How the Media Destroys Obama

Talk about killing with kindness. Supporters of Barack Obama should be wary of the news media's feverish gushing for the Democratic White House hopeful.

The Illinois senator now runs the risk of a backlash against a media seen as force feeding him to Democratic primary voters. Still, Obama could be excused for welcoming media group think that has gone stark raving mad for his candidacy.

For starters, the constant media swooning over Obama's historic role as the first viable African-American contender does more to narrow his image as the "black candidate" than anything Bill Clinton said or did. Get beyond the historic to specifics and more voters might go along.

The Washington press club's love affair with Obama allows many of a certain generation to indulge the fantasy of returning to their youth as starry-eyed believers in John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. Hence, the voluble response to Caroline Kennedy's endorsement and the trembling excitement about Sen. Ted Kennedy climbing aboard.

Obama would be wise to dismiss the media hype and build a substantive, issue-oriented relationship with voters that remains independent of what fickle journalists say. More on Craig Crawford's Trail Mix