Why does media exaggerate Obama challenges?

Now that media advocacy helped elect a new U.S. president, pundits, analysts and reporters are already running interference. President-Elect Barack Obama won’t officially take the reins until January. But media is paving the way for their own smooth transition, declaring Obama will inherit the worst mess any president has faced, the economy is worse than it’s been since the Great Depression, America's image abroad is shot. And so forth and so on. Those descriptives fit most presidents we've had. So why are media outlets running interference before our new president even gets to sit in the official Oval Office chair?

It’s understandable traditional media and tongue waggers like Chris Matthews want Obama to succeed. They stand to lose what’s left of their credibility if he fails, particularly since they did not vet Obama with tenacity normally directed to a candidate who wants to be leader of the greatest country in the world.

Dislike for America is nothing new. Read history. Economic problems are nothing new. Read history. Social problems, tax issues—presidents have faced and will face those again. Standard media leans young and left. Many media workers are pitifully illiterate when it comes to history. Fact is, President George W. Bush inherited a pretty big mess when he took office. So did President Ronald Regan.

Here’s an excerpt from Time Magazine, describing conditions in the last weeks of the presidential election that resulted in Ronald Reagan’s win over Jimmy Carter:
“To the millions of people who find their incomes squeezed, their life-styles crimped and even their livelihoods threatened by the wrenchings of the economy, such questions often seem irrelevant.” Sound familiar?

What throws a bit of worry into the current state of affairs is Obama’s complete lack of experience at running anything, especially anything with a budget the size of the U.S. He’s already expressed an intent to move detainees from Gitmo and maybe even use executive power to (no surprise here) reverse policy on domestic drilling. I saw mention that Robert Kennedy may be in the running to head the EPA. If that happens, I predict your utility bills will be as big as the mortgage.

Don’t expect real coverage from standard media like The New York Times or The Washington Post. The Post finally fessed up to advocacy for Obama. The NYT should add ‘Promoting the Democratic Party’ to its masthead.

Point is, you just can’t trust standard media anymore, unless you like being lied to.
______________________

I selected this video with GOP constituents in mind. Listen to Reagan’s words and take them to heart. Obama is confronting economic, national security and energy challenges, but that can be said of every president who came to office in the last 75 years.