Media's reaction to Hillary Clinton's speech preceding Barack Obama's claim of victory highlights Reuters' and NBC's view of Barack as Obamessiah.

Media's reaction to Hillary Clinton's speech preceding Barack Obama's claim of victory highlights Reuters' and NBC's view of Barack as Obamessiah.·

By Jim Wrenn,
Editor and Washington Bureau Drawer Chief at PoliSat.Com.
June 4, 2008--

Helping to continue fueling the "media in the tank for Obama" controversy was Reuters' selection and display of a particular image of Barack Obama in its publication of "news" about Obama's campaign. The image shown on this page to the right shows the image. The link to the Reuters' news report is here, and a hat-tip link to the site which drew attention to Reuters' selection and publication of that image is here. Just in case Reuters were to remove the report and image, a screen-capture image of such image and content is here.

The photo (shown within the above-right image) depicts Obama in the same "visionary" pose with his out-of-focus campaign logo appearing behind him with a "halo" or "beatification" effect. Reuters' publication of that image with the accompanying text serves to convey stoic, visionary and noble victim-hood of Obama in sacrificing his membership in the Trinity United Church of Christ for the greater good. Here's the text accompanying the image in Reuters' news "slide-show" on May 31, 2008:

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama waits to speak in Aberdeen, South Dakota May 31, 2008. Obama said on Saturday he quit his Chicago church in the aftermath of inflammatory sermons that could become a lightning rod in the November election. REUTERS/Rick Wilking.

Absent being used as the caption for the image, the text would otherwise be unremarkable, Reuters use of the image at issue to illustrate the text certainly seems to be something other than straightforward "reporting" of the "facts."

Reuters is not alone in this kind of endeavor. Few pundits (outside of NBC) seem to doubt that NBC News and MSNBC have been "in the tank" for Obama. Some, such as Chris Matthews, are commentators rather than reporters, but others (such as Tim Russert º¹ and David Schuster) are purporting not to be commentators, and others (such as Keith Olberman) are ideologues overtly masquerading as reporters.

Sharing Reuters' messianic view of Obama as "Obamessiah," many at NBC have become prelates in Obamessianity, which appears to have become a Twenty-First Century version of Christianity. Leading the clergy as the head of Obamessianity is Pope Matthews. Envious of Matthews' position as top prelate is Cardinal Olberman. Once the dominant force in NBC News is Bishop Russert,º¹ who seems to be somewhat conflicted on whether to try to reform the new "church" from "within" or attempt to regain his former status of at least attempting to evenhandedly play the role of a politically secular news analyst. Also prominent in this new form of evangelical news is Cardinal Schuster wearing his victim-hood on his sleeves in the wake of his attempt a few months ago to eclipse Cardinal Olberman.

. The NBC Church of Obamessianity has developed a new list of "Seven Deadly Sins" for the edification of all who seek enlightenment in assessing or participating in Campaign 2008:

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·(Update June 13, 2008 re Tim Russert's death--

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1. He who draws attention to Obama's decades-long, close political and religious associations with bigots is a worse bigot than the bigots with whom Obama associated.

2. He who draws attention to Obama having begun and maintained his political career by actively soliciting political support from a leftist radical still unrepentant for his terroristic campaign in the 1960's against the police and military in America is guilty of a "guilt-by-association" form of McCarthyism because extremists on the left have noble motives unlike the wholly evil motives of extremists on the right.

2. He who draws attention to statements by Michelle Obama on the campaign trail decrying the "meanness" of America and the absence of reasons to be "proud" of America until the fall of 2007 is unfairly attacking Obama's wife, but it's obviously fair to hold Hillary Clinton accountable for anything and everything said or done by Bill Clinton or to hold John McCain accountable for anything and everything said or done by Cindy McCain because the thoughts and deeds of their spouses provide plainly relevant insights into those candidates' political philosophies.

3. The term "change" is a substantive and complete explication of Obama's platform and policy, and anyone seeking to characterize such slogan as vacuous is a prisoner of the "old" politics.

4. He who fails to feel a "tingle" when listening to Obama's soaring oratory is shutting his heart to all that is good and noble and is thus a prisoner of the "bitterness" that characterized American political history until Obama came onto the scene.

5. Anyone questioning whether Obama's policies of "change" would diminish or increase the risks of another major terrorist attack on America is committing the sin of fear-mongering.

6. Anyone questioning Obama's judgment on his plans for Iraq in particular and foreign policy generally is thereby challenging his patriotism.

7. To be drawn into contrasting McCain's bi-partisan accomplishments with Obama's expressions of bi-partisan intentions is to unfairly exalt McCain's politically self-serving accomplishments over the healing effects of Obama's noble oratory.

Rumors at NBC indicate a continuation of the struggle by Cardinal Olberman to unseat and replace Pope Matthews. What role will Bishop Russert º¹ play? Will he decide to become the Martin Luther of NBC, or will he, like Galileo, confess his prior heresies? Stay tuned.