Obama's control over the media

Okay, so that's a pretty dire-sounding subject heading. Yet,as I write this, Drudge is headlining a 2001 radio interview in which Obama described it as "tragic" that the Warren Court's failed to interpret the Constitution as imposing an affirmative obligation on the part of government to redistribute wealth.

I'm no journalist, but that strikes me as newsworthy. Perhaps not as newsworthy as the cost of Sarah Palin's wardrobe, but newsworthy nonetheless.

Of course, the mainstream media seems to disagree, at least so far. After all, they have yet to report the fact that Obama belonged to a socialist fringe party in the 1990's.

Seriously, what the hell's going on here? Is this entirely a function of liberal media bias?

I'm not so sure it is. While liberal bias was clearly a big factor in Obama's success to date, I think the media are now gripped by something more powerful than mere ideological conviction.

They're certain he's going to win, and they're afraid he'll cut off their access if they raise embarrassing questions about him in the final days of the campaign.

There's no question that reporters and editors are willing to trade off journalistic integrity to preserve their access to power. A CNN producer even wrote an op-ed following the toppling of Saddam Hussein admitting that the network sugarcoated its portrayal of life under the Iraqi regime in order to keep its Baghdad bureau open. "This is CNN"? No, this is CNN.

With the broadcast networks and especially newspapers struggling to hold viewers and readers, they have a strong business incentive to remain on the Obama camp's good side as The Messiah prepares to assume the reins of power. They don't want to be deprived of one-on-one interviews with the new president and first lady. Moreover, they don't want to be demonized in the lefty blogosphere for trying to rain on the Democrats' big parade.

If editors and reporters for major media outlets have any qualms about failing to report on Obama's socialist-leaning past, they can console themselves with the knowledge that McCain appears headed for defeat regardless. That, along with their ideological affinity for Obama, makes it a no-brainer for them to look the other way for another week as yet further revelations surface over Obama's radical mindset.