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The Media & The Chosen One

Posted by ANGELA WINTERS in At TMV.
Feb 7th, 2008 | Comments

In, And Obama Wept, ABC Correspondent Jake Tapper discusses the cult of Obama and how its gotten out of hand. “It’s as if Tom Daschle descended from on high saying, “Be not afraid; for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people: for there is born to you this day in the city of Chicago a Savior, who is Barack the Democrat.”

I was personally amazed at some of the statements by media folks who act as if they’ve fallen in love for the first time. MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, who said he wept after Obama’s Iowa victory speech, says, “I’ve been following politics since I was about 5. I’ve never seen anything like this. This is bigger than Kennedy. [Obama] comes along, and he seems to have the answers. This is the New Testament.”

Tapper goes on to discuss the feelings expressed by other news personalities and popular bloggers who agree their cohorts need to get a grip. One says, “Excuse me, but this sounds more like a cult than a political campaign. The language used here is the language of evangelical Christianity – the Obama volunteers speak of ‘coming to Obama’ in the same way born-again Christians talk about ‘coming to Jesus.’…So I say, we should all get a grip, stop all this unseemly mooning over Barack, see him and the political landscape he is a part of in a cooler, clearer, and more realistic light, and get to work.”

Could this end up creating a backlash movement? I’m the kind of person who generally becomes skeptical of something that so many just jump unquestionably on board with, but I still like him. And wasn’t just a few weeks ago people were complaining about a media bias for Clinton?

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BBQ

That's a good analogy considering his speeches are like listening to a AME or black Baptist Preacher.

pacatrue

Well, the quotes you provide are obviously overkill in their support of Obama, to say the least. On the other hand, I think those views don't really represent Obama supporters in general. Most are supporting him for the same host of normal political reasons that people support candidates.

DLS

The hype over Obama has always been ridiculous -- he is no JFK, or Lincoln, despite what so many people say and may actually believe.

On the other hand, Americans loathe Hillary Clinton!

Good reader remarks about Clinton's struggling ($$$) campaign:

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/02/07/clinto...

chadama

When did this "inexperienced" totally "unprepared" politician become the darling of the media? A month ago "He couldn't win against Hillary if he had an army!" Now he's the media's darling? The truth is most of you in the media don't know what else to say now that he's been able to accomplish what you "Knew" he couldn't possibly do, and that was; Challenge the Clinton machine -- and the ugly prospect of 24 years of presidents from two families. Of course he's no JFK -- he's Barack Obama!

elrod

I think Barack Obama is wonderful and would make an excellent President. Just the way he has handled his campaign with dignity, savvy, organization, discipline and poise under fire, has convinced me he has the essential character to be President. In fact, you can learn more about how a President will behave in office while watching him or her on the campaign trail than you can by watching them hold a lesser office.

But I do think there is a herd mentality out there that gets a little absurd. It gets particularly bad in intra-Democratic flamewars between Obama and Hillary supporters. I don't like how many Obama supporters spit out RNC talking points back at Hillary, even though they plan to vote for her if she's the nominee. Many people have lost perspective.

But then again, this is uncharted territory. Never in my lifetime has the nomination been in such doubt.

JSpencer

I still like Obama too, but I have to say, I'm glad there is plenty of time for the infatuation aspect to wear off. We need more talk about issues and details, not generalities and cult of personality.

DLS

"Of course he's no JFK -- he's Barack Obama!"

And if he's elected President, I'd certainly give him a chance.

DLS

Actually, Obama did an excellent job of smoothly handling the statement Romney made at CPAC that equated going Democratic with surrendering to terrorism:

“That’s the kind of poorly thought through statement that led him to have to drop out,” Obama said. “It’s a classic attempt to appeal to people’s fears that will not work in this campaign. And I think that’s part of the reason he was such an ineffective candidate.”

“No Democrat has suggested that we surrender to terrorism. Democrats have suggested that we start withdrawing out of Iraq so we can focus our attention on terrorism. But, you know, it’s a classic example of trying to conflate the war against real enemies with the failed strategy of the Bush Administration in Iraq. ” Obama said in response to a follow-up question. “It’s those sort of glib statements that I think got Romney consistently in trouble in this race.”

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/b...

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