He does what politicians do

An interesting "gotcha" from Charles Krauthammer (btw - what a great last name) over at the Washington Post. Krauthammer points out the three or four major flip-flops Obama has made since firmly securing the nomination from Clinton and the accompanying fact that he has been given almost blanket immunity on these flip-flops by the mainstream press.

This is an interesting point to make as the same types of reversals have been met with almost savage intensity and coverage in past campaigns (Kerry was almost paralyzed by them in 2004). So why is it that Obama gets freebie after freebie?

I'm going to ask the question because I think it needs to be asked - is Obama the recipient of less press scrutiny because of his race?

Let me backtrack for a moment. I am not on Geraldine Ferraro's side on this one. I think her comments suggesting Obama's race as the only reason for his success in the primaries were flippantly dismissive of the charisma, grassroots organization efforts, and appeal to a different kind of politics that have made his campaign one for the history books. However, if by 'preferential treatment' she meant the love affair that the press has had with Obama and their subsequent decision to handle his campaign with kid gloves, then I think there is at least a grain of truth there. If even Saturday Night Live could parody this preferential treatment, then I think we have to at least acknowledge its existence.

I will happily concede that the causation for the press' love affair with Obama can not be definitively tied to his race. However, I think its worth it for the question to be asked whether or not it can be answered.