Barack Obama and the Press: The Media Creates A Teflon Candidate and Elects Him

Patricia Schroeder, then a Democratic Congresswoman from Colorado, said in 1983 of then-President Reagan, “After carefully watching Ronald Reagan, I can see he's attempting a great breakthrough in political technology. He has been perfecting the Teflon-coated presidency. He sees to it that nothing sticks to him. He is responsible for nothing.”


From that remark, Ronald Reagan became known as "the Teflon President." And although there were a few downturns in his popularity, the truth is that very little bad news stuck to him and he ended his presidency with the highest approval ratings of any president since FDR.

I truly believe that there is a very large left-wing (read: super liberal) media in America that has a lot of power - far more than they deserve - and has flexed it more successfully in this past election cycle than ever before in history. This media is primarily represented by the big national newspapers - the NY Times, the Washington Post, the LA Times and the like - almost all of broadcast TV and the cable news channels (except Fox), the two big newsweekly magazines - Newsweek and Time - and some well-known websites. To be honest, the right has its representatives in each of these media categories - the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, US News and World Report - but these media categories are still dominated by the 'Goliaths' of the left and the opposition is represented by much more dimunative 'Davids' on the right. To be sure, this metaphor falls apart at this point because these 'Davids' have not been able to slay the 'Goliaths.'

There is a somewhat more even playing field in the Internet, and one place that the right actually dominates: talk radio.

In this election cycle, there was no one factor that contributed to the ultimate success of Barack Obama more than the left-wing media. They created him, they supported him, they promoted him, they made you feel guilty if you didn't want to vote for him, they annointed him 'the one' (thanks to Oprah Winfrey), they named him 'the savior,' and, most importantly, they forgave him for ALL his sins, big and small. Whereas Reagan earned the Teflon himself by his charm and skills as 'The Great Communicator,' the media created and handed Obama the Teflon coating.

It didn't matter that he had no national experience and no executive experience and, in fact, had been in the Senate LESS THAN TWO YEARS before he announced he was running for President and LESS THAN FOUR YEARS before he was actually elected. It didn't matter that he had NO LEGISLATIVE INIATIVES in his almost four years in the Senate to speak of. It didn't matter that initially he hardly had any plans to fix anything "wrong" with America other than withdraw from Iraq and the buzzword of "CHANGE."

With all that, the Press made you believe he was not just the best man for the job but that he was brilliantly qualified, had vast experience, had great ideas, etc.

But, most of all, when there was something he really should have been held accountable for, he wasn't. And chief among those 'sins,' was the Reverend Wright debacle. How Obama could sit in that church for 20 years, hear the most reprehensible talk about Jews, Israel, and America - especially, "Some say 'God Bless America'..., [but] I say 'God Damn America!' ," and not leave in protest, is beyond me.

For sure, John McCain was meek in making this an issue, in going after Obama for the statements of Reverend Wright. (After a parallel incident a number of years ago, when Farakhan stooge Khalid Mohammed made similar anti-semitic and anti-American comments at Keane College in New Jersey, a great American said that he holds "all of black leadership in America responsible." When questioned how they could be responsible for what someone else said, he answered, "I don't hold them responsible for what he said. I hold them responsible for their silence!" *)

But the press was an accomplice in allowing Obama off the hook. Why didn't he repudiate those statements when they were made? How does that show wisdom, patriotism, principle, bravery, and leadership? Why did he break with Wright only MONTHS after there was pressure put on him to do so? These are all valid questions that never got answered fully by Obama - because he has no answer for them! But they were never really asked by a liberal press that wanted to see Obama win and were not going to ask him any tough questions.

The left-wing media created, supported and protected Obama and got him elected. They gave him his Teflon armor.

The question now is: How long will they let him wear it before they take it back?


(* That great American quoted above in the Khalid Mohammed incident was none other than Howard Stern.)