Media messes with Democrats

Howard Kurtz:

The Democratic candidates often talk about unity, and indeed, they have brought together an important group of Americans.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have managed to unify the media, which are now having a fine time dumping on both of them.

The MSM narrative is that both are such limited, fatally flawed candidates that not only can't either one be elected president, but they also may not be capable of coaching the local soccer team.

Clinton couldn't close the deal, then Obama couldn't close the deal, and now the deal is that each is only half a decent candidate, as exemplified by the Time cover running one-half of each of their faces and the New Republic cover morphing them into one face.

Liberal commentators and bloggers mostly rip Hillary for having the temerity to stay in the race after winning Pennsylvania by 10, but some of them are also denigrating Obama for failing to expand his base in state after state and mishandling a string of recent controversies.

Conservative commentators and bloggers are more than happy to pound the two Democrats for a variety of sins while (slowly) warming to John McCain's candidacy.

Usually, a political narrative requires that one contender get increasingly good press and the other increasingly bad press. But that requires one candidate to be on the way up and the other on the way down. In a stalemate, it seems, they both get roughed up.

...

I am not sure the Obama mania has been dissipated. You can be sure of one thing. When the Democrats finally settle on a nominee, the media will be all for whomever it is. McCain better enjoy what good press he is now getting, because when the fall comes he want see as much.