Barack Hussein Obama, the swimwear model, good friend of Oprah Winfrey and Jay Leno, dance partner of Ellen De Generes, bowling enthusiast, and President of the United States can now credibly add one more title to his ever growing Curriculum Vitae: The American Media’s most coddled public figure. A cursory examination of media coverage concerning the Administration 100 Days reveals a breathtaking pro-Obama bias, which cannot be explained away as a simple case of the mainstream media leading cheers for their favorite liberal Democrat of the moment. Conservatives believe this universally and accept it as an article of faith. Interestingly, some liberals, notably Howard Kurtz and Mark Halperin, are admitting this themselves and are predicting that the most egregiously guilty parties “…will regret this.”
Despite this apparent ripple of liberal doubt the current rolls on and the fawning press continues. Harry Smith compares Obama to Moses, Chris Mathews feels a trickle running down his leg, and ABC’s Terry Moran contrasts Obama favorably with George Washington. The leading lights of the prestige media are singing from the same hymnbook. The question is, and always has been: Why? Why have the media gone in the tank for Barack Obama and when will the honeymoon end?
The answer to the latter question is that this infatuation will not end anytime soon. The answer to the former question is much more complex. Many commentators have advanced their various explanations for this phenomenon but they can be reduced to four logical possibilities. First of all, some argue that Obama’s personal qualities lead to favorable press coverage. True, Obama can be petulant at times and he seems quite thin-skinned when taking personal criticism. He does, however, seem generally affable and his Secret Service retinue said he was a nice guy who eschewed diva treatment and played a mean game of basketball. Perhaps the ladies and gentlemen of the press are showing their approval of a regular guy.