As I have been watching the campaign coverage, I have tried to get a variety of viewpoints by switching between CNN, Fox, MSNBC and the other major networks. I’ve come to expect Fox to be conservative, CNN to be somewhat mixed and MSNBC to be liberal.
Because I like Chris Matthews and think that the speed and quality of MSNBC coverage is a tad better than the others, I have leaned to their reviews of the speeches. Despite his liberalism, Matthews has been fairly-balanced in his look at the convention so far and, while Keith Olbermann is practically on the Obama payroll, he has tried the last day or so to be somewhat careful in his comments.
But tonight they went WAY over the edge.
Yes, Senator Obama delivered a good speech. Yes, it was inspiring and the historic nature of the event is worth praise and reflection.
But to listen to the commentary from everyone on MSNBC, you would think he had raised the dead, personally solved every problem known to man and then levitated himself over the stadium. Olbermann came close to having an on-the-air orgasm over the address.
The other networks (CNN, Fox, ABC, CBS) were fulsome in their praise of the address but were also willing to comment on the potential problems he might face and the places where the speech might not have succeeded. Not only did MSNBC not do this, but they actually had Keith on the air trashing anyone who dared to criticize the address.
I am not suggesting that anyone was wrong to praise Obama. His address was spectacularly-delivered and deserved many positive comments. But there were also flaws and for MSNBC to take such a one sided attitude only serves to support those who accuse them of such biases.