MarketWatch: Barack Obama has nothing to complain about
Commentary: The media's fawning treatment has made him a pop star
By Jon Friedman
Feb 14, 2007
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Sen. Barack Obama has nothing to complain about, when it comes to the media coverage of his presidential campaign.
It seems that the Illinois Democrat has a problem, though. Politico.com, the impressive new political-news site, ran this headline Feb. 12: "Obama Casts Peevish Eye on National Media."
Taken at face value, this astounds me. I can't remember the last time journalists gave a White House candidate such a supersonic push to enable him or her to capture the public's imagination....
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Ben Smith's story on the Politico site began this way: Obama "used his first news conference after announcing his run for president to accuse the media of ignoring his substantive record and falsely depicting him as a lightweight."
It quoted Obama as saying: "The problem is that that's not what you guys have been reporting on. You've been reporting on how I look in a swimsuit."...
Sorry, but if Obama poses for Men's Vogue, he has to expect this unorthodox bit of marketing to enter into the national debate. He can't have it both ways, where one day he is talking gravely about fighting terrorism and the next appearing in some glossy magazine to show that he's hip and youthful.
By carping, Obama comes off looking a bit churlish, if not defensive and, perhaps worst of all, naive.
He has positioned himself as a legitimate candidate for the Democratic nomination, mostly as a fresh voice in the national debate. It would be unfortunate if he moved forward as just another press-baiting pol....
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