Old Medias Obession With Itself

Kathleen Parker became hero of mine for her take down of Sarah Palin during the presidential campaign. But I always understood that her establishmentarism was at the root of her spite for Palin. This is why I wasn't surprised by her op/ed today in the WaPo. The money quote:

Nine minutes into the first answer to the first question, I began missing Bush's customary dispatch. Bush's contempt for the media meant he never stayed long enough to bore us.

You see, she's under the impression the goal of the press conference was to change the opinion of the doubters in the press. While it's obvious Obama cares about his portrayal in the media, Parker doesn't realize she's being used by Obama to speak directly to the people. He's fully aware his power is in his approval ratings and his ability to connect with and convince the people his plan is the best, most thought out available.

The use of the Internet to organize and communicate during the primaries separated him from from the rest of his Dem rivals. Large rallies, where he delivered speeches that were best described by commentators as "talking to the crowd as adults," were more intimate than you'd expect. He was Professor Obama once again. The classroom was larger, a world stage, but he never really changed and the audience appreciated it.

The media fawned over his "race speech" because they felt it was more directed at them than it was the voters. Again, the media was duped. It's been viewed close to ten million times in various forms on YouTube. The Obama in Philadelphia was the same Obama that was at his press-conference last night.

Parker missed Bush's stuttering, sputtering and obvious contempt for the media. Obama doesn't hold that same contempt - yet. But he has something Bush never had and it's something Slate's John Dickerson recognized:

He's orderly. This is in great contrast to his predecessor, who sometimes spoke in small colloquial bursts. Those who found that to be George W. Bush's most irritating quality have probably already watched Obama again on TiVo for the delight of hearing a string of complete sentences. There may also be another group of people who tuned in or will see the sound bites from the press conference on Tuesday and will be reminded that they like Obama's moderate, careful tone and find that reason enough to give him more support for his big new program.

Obama is the anti-Bush and that's who the people elected. Parker may miss Bush and write off Obama as "amateurish," but she wasn't and hasn't been the target of any of the decisions or actions. Gallup's recent poll show 67% of Americans support how Obama has handled the stimulus package.

Now just imagine if the DNC and Obama for America really get going the support he'll have to enact the rest of his policies and platform.