http://www.newsweek.com/id/200126/page/1
Robert J. Samuelson
The Obama Infatuation

Is the press giving the president a free pass?

Jun 1, 2009 | Updated: 1:47 p.m. ET Jun 1, 2009

The Obama infatuation is a great unreported story of our time. Has any recent president basked in so much favorable media coverage? Well, maybe John Kennedy for a moment, but no president since. On the whole, this is not healthy for America.
Our political system works best when a president faces checks on his power. But the main checks on Obama are modest. They come from congressional Democrats, who largely share his goals if not always his means. The leaderless and confused Republicans don't provide effective opposition. And the press—on domestic, if not foreign, policy—has so far largely abdicated its role as skeptical observer.
Obama has inspired a collective fawning. What started in the campaign (the chief victim was Hillary Clinton, not John McCain) has continued, as a study by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism shows. It concludes: "President Barack Obama has enjoyed substantially more positive media coverage than either Bill Clinton or George W. Bush during their first months in the White House."


The study examined 1,261 stories by The Post, The New York Times, ABC, CBS and NBC, NEWSWEEK magazine and the NewsHouron PBS. Favorable articles (42 percent) were double the unfavorable (20 percent), while the rest were "neutral" or "mixed." Obama's treatment contrasts sharply with coverage in the first two months of the Bush (22 percent of stories favorable) and Clinton (27 percent) presidencies.
Unlike George Bush and Bill Clinton, Obama received favorable coverage in both news columns and opinion pages. The nature of stories also changed. "Roughly twice as much of the coverage of Obama (44 percent) has concerned his personal and leadership qualities than was the case for Bush (22 percent) or Clinton (26 percent)," the report said. "Less of the coverage, meanwhile, has focused on his policy agenda."
When Pew broadened the analysis to 49 outlets—cable channels, news Web sites, morning news shows, more newspapers and National Public Radio—the results were similar, despite some outliers. No surprise: MSNBC was favorable, Fox was not. Another study, released by the Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University, reached parallel conclusions.
The infatuation matters because Obama's ambitions are so grand. He wants to expand health-care subsidies, tightly control energy use and overhaul immigration. He envisions the greatest growth of government since Lyndon Johnson. The Congressional Budget Office estimates federal spending in 2019 at nearly 25 percent of the economy (gross domestic product). That's well up from the 21 percent in 2008, and far above the post-World War II average; it would also occur before many baby boomers retire.
Are his proposals practical, even if desirable? Maybe they're neither? What might be the unintended consequences? All "reforms" do not succeed; some cause more problems than they solve. Johnson's economic policies, inherited from Kennedy, proved disastrous; they led to the 1970s' "stagflation." The "war on poverty" failed. The press should not be hostile, but it ought to be skeptical.
Mostly, it isn't. The idea of a "critical" Obama story is one about a tactical conflict with congressional Democrats or criticism from an important constituency. Larger issues are minimized, despite ample grounds for skepticism.
Obama's rhetoric brims with inconsistencies. In the campaign, he claimed he would de-emphasize partisanship—and also enact a highly partisan agenda; both couldn't be true. He got a pass. Now, he claims he will control health-care spending even though he proposes more government spending. He promotes "fiscal responsibility" when projections show huge and continuous budget deficits. Journalists seem to take his pronouncements at face value even when many are two-faced.


The cause of this acquiescence isn't clear. The press sometimes follows opinion polls; popular presidents get good coverage, and Obama is enormously popular. By Pew, his job approval rating is 63 percent. But because favorable coverage began in the campaign, this explanation is at best partial.
Perhaps the preoccupation with the present economic crisis has diverted attention from the long-term implications of other policies. But the deeper explanation may be as straightforward as this: Most journalists like Obama; they admire his command of language; he's a relief after Bush; they agree with his agenda (so it never occurs to them to question basic premises); and they don't want to see the first African American president fail.
Whatever, a great edifice of government may arise on the narrow foundation of Obama's personal popularity. Another Pew survey shows that since the election the numbers of both self-identified Republicans and Democrats have declined. "Independents" have increased, and "there has been no consistent movement away from conservatism, nor a shift toward liberalism."
The press has become Obama's silent ally and seems in a state of denial. But the story goes untold: Unsurprisingly, the study of all the favorable coverage received little coverage.

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Someone hasn't been watching fox news, you want to see anything remotely related to the democrat party be bashed 24/7 (pres included) all you have to do is tune in there. They don't even care if they deserve it or not just constant bashing... it gets almost funny sometimes.

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...flowering.

you should watch MSNBC..they have news coverage of fox news bashing them like 24/7..last i heard a guy on msnbc was saying o reilly was responible for some abortion doctor murder..they are accusing them of fermenting terrorism and extremism..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncyq5...e=channel_page
this is your typical obama and democrat voter. check it out..dumb as dog shit..but they have a vote too..

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everything i print write or show on here is a complete and utter lie..i cant help myself i am a terminal liar..all of this shit is just fiction and made up for entertainment purposes ONLY..

o'reilly repub or dem aside should not be on television. he interups tells people to shut up etc.. he is over the top and extremely disrespectful being american knowing people will take men like him seriously is sad.

So in essence you are calling me dumb as dogshit. I never claimed to be the brightest bulb in the box, Like you, but dumb as dogshit? I doeth protest oh great one. I've made it to almost 70, being on my own since I was 15, that takes some intellect. I gleaned out two years of college while supporting a wife and three kids, that takes some fortitude. I may not have hit the million dollar club, but considering from where I started, I've done OK. I'd have to say you may need to hold up a mirror to see dumb as dogshit.

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Life is good, the water is sweet. The ground keeps moving beneath my feet.

ok..ill give you a little credit above dog shit mao..you are at least several steps above alot of your liberal bretheron. you have worked during your life time..at least some.you hae contributed and not taken . and that is worthy of note...
now grown a damn brain. GOVERNMENT IS NOT THE SOLUTION. IT IS THE PROBLEM.!!!!

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everything i print write or show on here is a complete and utter lie..i cant help myself i am a terminal liar..all of this shit is just fiction and made up for entertainment purposes ONLY..

being disrespectful or using offensive language does not make your feelings any more clear on either side of this subject. we would not speak to each other this way face to face at least not for long. so why do it hiding behind a computer screen its silly and shows personal weakness and insecurity.

Please check out infowars.com. See "The Obama Deception on youtube via The Alex Jones channel. The corporate media is controlled by the elite who in turn run our government. The corporate media only reports to the public what is approved by these overseers. You can not rely on them for news, only objective opinions for they are merely commentators and mediators. They wish to channel your thoughts to believe as they wish. FREEDOM OR FEARDOM the choice is ours.

all politicians suck wake up. bush and cheney are they forgotten? 8 years of destruction to this country. i did not vote for mcain or obama as there is the secret electoral college which means our democracy is null and void and has been for a while. plus monetary contributions from companies what a joke. you are all playing into the hands of the powers that be instead of looking at our broken system. you only give power to the morally corrupt in this way.

Let's be honest.

Love him or hate him...

It is no secret that the main stream press falls all over themselves to show the current administration in a positive light. Even they are admitting it. All I am saying is that if we want to ever treat this as a real step forward is to take the kid gloves off and threat EVERYONE the same. Don't be afraid to speak your mind.

Pro or Con it is your right to speak up.

And yes, I think it is crazy for the Government to be running a car company. Choosing what vehicles we will be driving. I don't want more America workers "paying a great sacrifice" for our future generations. Isn't the trillions more in additional debt enough?