If it were the 1990s, Joe Biden’s primetime interview Friday with ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos would be a ratings monster. There would be no Netflix, Hulu or PlayStation to compete with it.

What’s more, Biden’s performance would be dispositive, either dooming his candidacy or resuscitating it — that’s how much power the mainstream media once had.

In my estimation, doom is much more likely — regardless of how many credulous Americans tune in to the spectacle. Indeed, this interview strikes me as a no-win proposition for Biden.

My take might sound surprising. After all, Stephanopoulos is a former Democratic aide who is also a member of the dreaded liberal establishment media. Based on that, you might expect him to throw Biden a much-needed lifeline.

Stephanopoulos is the same guy who flummoxed then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney with an apropos of nothing question about contraception in 2012. He is the same guy who, as recently as 2009, participated in a daily conference call with Democratic operatives (this was more than a decade after he left the political operative world for journalism).

It is understandable that some Republicans don’t trust him to be objective.

It’s also worth noting that there is lingering bitterness regarding the so-called “revolving door” for prominent Democratic operatives. Stephanopoulos, Chris Matthews, Tim........

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