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(AP)
The press corps has spent the last year or so speculating about – and building buzz for – possible 2008 Democratic presidential candidates who are not named Hillary Clinton. It looked for a while like Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner would take the anti-Hillary role, something that would both satisfy a press corps eager for a storyline and party activists worried Clinton couldn't win. The New York Times Magazine even gave Warner, who is little known nationally, its cover in March.
But then Warner said he wouldn't run, and the press corps turned to Barak Obama, the freshman Illinois Senator who gave 2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address. Obama has less than two years experience in the Senate, and he had insisted he had no plans to run for president – until yesterday. Appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press," Obama said he will "consider" running after the midterm elections.
What changed his mind? In part, the evolving political landscape – it's hard to imagine Obama making the jump with Warner in the race. But he's also well aware of the boost he's gotten from the press. Obama is presently the most talked about first-term Senator in the land, with the exception of a certain former first lady. He has landed on the cover of Time magazine ("Why Barack Obama Could Be The Next President") and has been featured in countless other media outlets, from the Washington Post to Men's Vogue. This morning, CBSNews.com put his "Meet the Press" comments among its top stories.
Media critic Howard Kurtz has characterized press coverage of Obama as "unbelievable puffy." He asked on CNN's "Reliable Sources": "[W]hy are journalists…practically trying to draft the guy into a presidential race when he's been a senator for just under two years?"
The answer to that question is complex – it has to do with Obama's genuine likeability, his largely unblemished resume which offers few negatives outside his relative lack of experience, and the press' aforementioned need for a nifty storyline. It also might have something to do with a desire amongst the press corps for a viable black presidential candidate. The last time we saw the press pushing a candidate to this degree was prior to the 1996 election, when Colin Powell flirted with running.
Something of a backlash has already begun – including in the pages of the New York Times, where Bob Herbert is cautioning against Obamamania. And there is also talk that Obama is leveraging all the attention for other reasons – everything from book sales to a chance at a vice presidential slot. We'll see how it plays out, but Obama has certainly been living a charmed political life so far – his opponents in his Senate primary and the general election stumbled thanks to personal issues, his party gave him a prime opportunity to make a national name for himself at its 2004 convention, and the media seems to have (for the most part) fallen in love with him. (And so has Oprah!) It's perhaps no surprise he's thinking about running sooner rather than later – in American politics, the only thing harder than generating Obama-level buzz is sustaining it.
I was so not serious. Just wanted you to feel smart for a minute. Please go try and do something constructive. K?
Thanks for being the true liberal you are...when faced with the facts...attack. How about addressing Mr. Robinsons comment or discussing the fact is is an actual issue. Is Mr. Robisnon ignorant like me? Is he making it up? Your thoughts?
I've got some research for ya: TRY THINKING FOR YOURSELF! It may be hard to do at first, but I'm sure you will get the hang of it. Then again, I retract that statemnet. That will probably be impossible for you. Everybody else; have fun with this guy/gal.
Here is a quote from Eugene Robinson..a black reporter for the Washington Post. He is being interviwed by Katie Couric about Condie Rice:
That's the way I feel -- until I hear some commentator describe her as, quote, "articulate," which is code for a black person who speaks standard English. Excuse me? You were expecting the Secretary of State to be inarticulate?
Maybe you should do a little research before you take pot shots a people. This has been an issue out in the black community for a long time.
That is why I never post comments on forums. You have to deal with ignorance. That has got to be one of the dumbest statements I have ever heard. I am not even exaggerating. That was borderline mentally disabled thinking. Go back to watching Jerry Springer.
Without a doubt he would have not made the speech if he was white. I'd bet a million dollars on that one. I also love the code word liberals use for a black person who rises to the top.....articulate. I never hear that word used for a white person.
Obama stumbled into his senatorial seat...it was all luck. The liberal white press loves the opportunity to put a black politician on a pedestal. Howie Kurtz even made that point on Sunday. Let's see what happens when the press stops fawing over him and treats him like a regular politician.
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I think it's more like if he wasn't so intelligent and articulate, then maybe he would not be getting so much attention. Are you also going to contest that if he was white, he would not have made the keynote adress at the 2004 DNC?