Even Conservative Media Chorus Sings Obama's Praises

WP: Even Conservative Media Chorus Sings Obama's Praises
Even Conservative Media Chorus Sings Obama's Praises
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 8, 2008; C01

Barack Obama, now the media's odds-on favorite to win the White House, is drawing effusive praise from the chattering classes.

"You'd have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by this. . . . This is a huge moment," one commentator wrote. An unreconstructed liberal? An African American hungering for a racial breakthrough? No, it was David Brooks, the conservative New York Times columnist, and he's got plenty of company on the right.

The media overall are being swept up by a wave of Obamamania, in which normally hard-bitten journalists watch the orator in action and come away dazzled by his gifts. A New York Times piece Saturday compared the Illinois senator to JFK and Martin Luther King in the same paragraph. A Newsweek cover story out yesterday gushed that Obama, "tall and handsome and blessed with a weighty baritone, knows how to bring along a crowd while seeming to stay slightly above it." The journalistic scrutiny usually visited on instant front-runners has been replaced by something akin to a standing ovation.

What's more, the applause extends even to pundits on the right, many of whom routinely denigrate Democratic politicians and yet are strikingly warm toward Obama. There is gratitude, to be sure, that he seems poised to knock off their longtime bete noire, Hillary Clinton -- especially if he wins today's New Hampshire primary -- but also admiration for his inclusive approach to politics and for his sheer talent....

***

In the wake of Obama's remarks about unity on the night of his Iowa caucus victory Thursday, MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman and self-described conservative, called it "one of the most remarkable speeches I've ever seen."...Scarborough dismisses the notion that some conservatives are talking up Obama in the belief that he would be a weak general-election opponent. "I get e-mails from Republicans, who've never voted for a Democrat before, saying they were tearing up during his Iowa speech," he says from New Hampshire. "I don't think they're being calculated and cynical. This is so damn great for America."...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/07/AR2008010702939_pf.html

they might get further with certain agendas. they might have more leeway with him maybe? that's what i'm thinking. he's promising "unity".

you should be asking why conservatives are talking up Obama.

nt

And I'm only talking about Fox News here: Obama wasn't in the lead until now. They'll start piling on him if he keeps winning primaries. OR, they think he's beatable by the Republicans, so they're happy to have him in the lead.

I also think they are being careful because they don't want to come across as racist. They have had a field day with Edwards because they have no worries of being charged with any kind of discrimination or bigotry.

the primaries.... its cheaper

obama is nobody.. no real good history, like edwards working for the working people most of his life.. the most notable thing about him is that he actually admitted to 'smoking crack'.. jesus lord help us!!

believe that he has won over right wingers and that they will not attack him and he will "win by a landslide"
They have NOT been paying attention to the last 20 years!

eyes ..so devious and clear they have plans for him.. if he is elected and he is responsible for a thug takeover.. i will quit the party,... why F'n bother anymore.. they will never learn

Why expect that they are anything close to right now?

Bush didn't win in 2000 and the entire phenomenom will be a mystery for years

Fox News has been very kind to him. The worst thing they've said is that he's "very liberal" which, of course, worries them. But so far no ridicule, which I can't say for their treatment of Edwards and Clinton.

I keep wondering who is really pulling what strings to get what they ultimately want.

You made me laugh out loud at work!

lol

Cereal for lunch? Or is it morning there? Or are you just getting up?

I'm on eastern standard time.

Or fun cereal?

to make sure it's not a Democrat (John Edwards) who'll hold them accountable. When Hillary started to fade, they poured fuel on Obama's fire.

Neither should any clear-thinking person

The ECONOMY is the major issue - Not Iraq. Obama cannot lead us out of the pending recession!

It isn't just Republican media that are supporting him. Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are voting for him in staggering numbers over Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Edwards.

My worry, a Democrat who will not help down ticket, and they take back Congress.
Scary, indeed.