One of the memes of the leftist blogosphere is that the press rolled over the the Bush administration and that if MSM had not perhaps things would not be so bad. The quote below, from Salon, it typical:
Get the media to grow a spine.
The American media's performance in the run-up to the Iraq war was one of the lowest points in its history. Swept up in war fever, the gutless press acted as a quasi-official cheerleader and failed to subject administration claims to elementary due diligence. After 9/11, it was to be expected that large parts of the electorate, and the hapless Congress, would succumb to emotions and the visceral desire for revenge. But the media, which should have acted as the brains of the outfit, abandoned its post and joined in the orgy of uncritical flag-waving. In a contemporary democracy, such a failure has catastrophic consequences. It cannot happen again.
Iraq: The ten commandments | Salon
Well, we needn't worry. Main Stream Media will get their spines up soon. One of the reasons the media have been such wimps is the sense that they'd gone overboard in hating the Clintons during he 90's. With that nice George Bush in power, they could be nice too. Well now that it's the Clintons are back, the press is already back at work - hating the Clintons. And they have a new target. One that they're still trying to figure out how to hate in print (or video or talk): Barack Obama.
Obama will be a bit harder to work over without accusations of racism being lodged. Don't worry though, the MSM's main source, Drudge, will provide the excuse to attack him.
When one of these two becomes President you can count on the media to point out every foible, attack every program and pronouncement, dig deeply into every possible scandal, repeat every slander and expend great effort in investigative reporting - a skill that's been defunct since the 200o election.
Of course, if McCain gets elected the love affair with him will continue and the press will continue to see its duty as supporting the delusions of the wing nuts who actually control them. (This is an unfair calumny, but if we believe right wing lies - that the press is liberal - why not believe this misrepresentation - the press is a creature of right wing extremism?)
