It is time to address this so-called media love affair with the Obamas. Now please pause before your defenses and blood pressure both begin to rise. Let me first opine 2 appropriate caveats: 1) The question of infatuated impropriety rests not on President Obama but on the media; it is an unrequited adoration. And 2) I am not speaking of partisanship; I am speaking of those whose journalistic opinions now drip with enamored affection.
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Lee Cowan, Obama reporter for NBC News during the campaign: "When NBC News first assigned me to the Barack Obama campaign, I must confess my knees quaked a bit."
MSNBC’s Chris Matthews... "I've been following politics since I was about 5. I've never seen anything like this... [Obama] comes along, and he seems to have the answers. This is the New Testament!”
Printed in the UK’s Daily Mail, 6 weeks after the election: Michelle Obama is "a goddess [who] stepped onto the world stage and made it her own...married to someone who is, frankly, a sex god."
Andy Rooney, closing CBS’s “60 Minutes” last Sunday: "Obama just looks good every time he does anything."
And back to Matthews, who arguably provides the most comic relief, reacting to Obama’s shirtless, beach vacation: "The sun glinted off chiseled pectorals sculpted during four weight-lifting sessions each week and a body toned by regular treadmill runs and basketball games." (“Chiseled pectorals?” ... ok... give me a moment for the laughter to subside... that would be the laughter from BOTH the President and me!)
A quick glance at the magazine covers with the Obamas’ pic... GQ’s “Obama Rules” ... Us’s “Why Barack Loves Her”... Der Spiegel’s “Der Messias-Faktor”... Ebony’s “Black Cool”... even Tiger Beat’s “I Sing in the Shower”... wow... I sure miss those days of Leif Garrett and Parker Stevenson.
Let me re-state that this infatuation in no way reflects negatively on our 44th President. The reality is Obama has the potential to be an excellent leader IN SPITE of those who are seizing the Messiah complex on his behalf. But this affair has caused me to google the following: “...and there he was... effortlessly gliding across the East Lawn via his strong, stalwart strut, with his robust shoulders as only a bold Texan could muster... the master from Midland... and when he spoke, it mattered not if there was a babble... a blunder... his divine slang still captivated us all...” Uh, I’m still googling.
Enough, enough! ...time to read my new Women’s Health mag that came in the mail last week... oh, look on page 82... I kid you not... “Michelle Obama’s 7 Secrets of a Sexy Marriage!”
AR
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6 comments:
Your words are so true. The objective reader will hear them. Many will not allow themselves that reality. Great article today.
My gut reaction to all this is really deep grief for the Obama's........I pray he has the opportunity to be a great leader.....however....the place the media has him in (messiah, ect) leads ONLY TO FAILURE.......it's ridiculous....and makes my heart hurt for the Obama's and the people in the media who see so little hope anywhere else to place it in a mere man...however gifted he may or may not be.
argh... this infatuation of our media and most of our culture with the "outward" appearance of Obama is maddening to me. He is a good package....handsome, well-spoken, not too fat, tall, young, nice teeth/smile, intelligent, lots of finesse... lots of great qualities that we can see. This goes along with the "pornification" of our visual culture that we have trapped ourselves into as Americans. Anything that is visually appealing, whether its Britney's belly or the simple advertising of beautiful, young, thin people in any ad you see has created this culture of pretty/beauty/attractiveness being so coveted and the priority of it being placed so far above more important things. It's not just about porn... but anything visually that pulls us away from traditional family values.
And then here comes Obama who has so many of these outward qualities. And lets face it... Bush...struggles with his speech/words at times, normal looking, nothing that "pops" so to speak with this looks. Clinton...although he probably thinks that he's quite "the package" himself, he's definitely not an Obama as far as these qualities go. SO the culture/media are jumping on Obama "package" with all its good looks and finesse.
Now.... I am hopeful he will lead our country in the right direction on many issues, but as far as I'm concerned he could have purple hair, weigh 300 pounds, have bucked teeth and talk with a lisp. The smooth talk and good looks don't impress me....but actions will.
And, yes, the Obamas made the cover of Time magazine again this week. Sometimes I think if the media would back off the superlatives of Obama, I might actually get to form my own opinion of him and it might even be positive. I'm always skeptical when all coverage is either totally positive or totally negative.
I know I may be a little different with my thoughts on this one, but I love how the media is treating all the Obama's. I was born in 1966, so I don't remember what it was like to have former Presidnet John F. Kennedy in office, but there almost seems to be the same infatuation with President Obama and his wife and children. My husband and much of my family, including my parents who are in their 70's, are very pleased with the election of Barack Obama. Let me ask you this question, would you prefer for the media to display embarrassing prejudices or a lack of respect towards our first African American President? I am thrilled with all the respect and intrigue the President and his family are getting. I absolutely love it, and as I write this my husband is reading the Audacity of Hope, written by President Obama. Keep in mind, 2/3 of the American population approve of President Obama, and the media is simply a reflection of this high approval.
I would love it if the reasons that the majority of Americans were enamored with Obama because of his character and accomplishments. BUt I can't help but feel that most Americans got caught up in what they saw outwardly from him. ANd that is his good looks, charming ways, words of hope, and so on. I feel that his family fit into what Americans want. A sweet family to go along with the president is something that is truly pleasant and I like seeing that myself. But I can't help but be reminded that he led his family by sitting each Sunday in a church with a preacher like Rev. Wright. And that he donated $800,000 to ACORN and that one of the people he used to help launch his political career was Bill Ayers. These are all actions that send a red flag up for me and the reasons I didn't vote for him. These actions to me were all character-reflecting. I do want hope and healing for our country. And I will always respect and encourage the office of the presidency. But I watch celebrities on TV just going on and on about him. ONe even said that she felt every American will remember where they were and what they were doing when he was sworn in. I just can't help but feel that the main reason he got where he has risen to is from being a great speaker with lots of finesse, good looks and saying what people want to hear. He came along at a time when Americans were the most dissatisfied and disheartened with our government. Politically it was very smart to stand on a platform that included anything that would be opposed to Bush. Put that together with his charm and good looks and that's why America has gone gah-gah.
Now if he makes a positive difference while in office, then I guess it will be worth it. But it just doesn't seem right when someone who wasn't such a great speaker with charm and finesse, didn't look as handsome, young and have a sweet little family might have been saying the same things as Obama and not been accepted on the level that Obama has.
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