It is discouraging. The reasons:

The mainstream media will not, all of a sudden, develop a spine that has been notably absent for almost seven years, simply because the Republican’s name is “McCain” rather than “Bush”. Senator John can safely count on softball questions that could have been written by Karl Rove himself, along with reporters who will fill in the “proper” answers when John flubs his own.

The Republican smear machine will start spreading slime at levels that will reach embarrassing proportions (as though they were capable of embarrassment)

The Conservative media will, of course, amplify those stories by, “just asking the question”, and then repeating each lie as though it were truth.

The result will be that some time into the fourth year of President McCain’s second term in office (and the twelfth year of the all out Iraqi Civil War), the press will start wringing their hands and asking, “How could we have been so fooled, AGAIN?” Just before they begin the process of lionizing whichever member of the Bush Family is planning to be the next President, after John McCain was so nice as to keep the seat warm for them for a few years.

Re: "I can't wait to hear the White House's spin on this one."

The White House doesn't have to spin anything. All the Bush Team has to do is ignore the issue and it will go away. After all, some time in the next three days, someone who Barak Obama once passed on the street will turn out to owe child support and our mainstream media will launch into an "Obama loves deadbeat dads" frenzy.

Ther is virtually ZERO chance that this item will even be reported on any of the network/cable news shows tonight, let alone anyone asking follow-up questions a day from now.

It was certainly a compelling argument to John McCain's Hardball questioner, Chris Mathews.

When you are the most vapid pundit on cable television, and displaying one of the most obvious man-crushes on a candidate since Chris declared George W. Bush was "the guy eveyone wanted to have a beer with", it is a very compelling argument.

Until we start seeing REAL reporters on cable television, it will work as well.

Was this debate sponsored by ABC or FoxNews?

It appears that Karl Rove is writing the script for ALL of our reporters, not just Chris Mathews.

Of course she will never divulge her tax returns. That rule only applies to Democratic Candidates, not Republicans.

And not even one media reporter will ask a single question about this. Not one. they are too invested in getting thier friend, John McCain, into the White House, where they can continue their lapdog act for another eight years.

Yet ABC has no problem firing off dozens of right wing framed propaganda bits during a DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY, what is supposed to be only for democratic voters's interests (not general election).

They are a disgraceful network.

No. They are just doing as they're told.

What the write fails to mention is that, in order to win, Democratic candidates must run an absolutely perfect campaign. The Mainstream media, cowering in fear of the Rightwing noise machine,w ill amplify any mistake, no matter how tine,a nd declare it to be absolute proof of hte failure of Democrats to lead.

Republicans, on the other hand, can count on the free pass that they always receive, since to print even one word that is less than laudatory of a Republican is considered proof of the "Liberal Media Conspiracy".

We see that today in the coddling of John McCain by the lapdogs of his entourage that passes for a "reporting" press.

If John McCain is not elected to continue the Bush Administration for a third term, it will not be for want of an adoring press.

The news networks appear to be graduating from being dependent just on Pentagon supplied mouthpieces. Now they can also turn to karl Rove for indepenenet, objective analsyis on the presidential race and events in iraq.... I guess Dick Cheney was busy.

Unfortunately, the author has negated this conclusion with one of the first statements in the article: "fawnign media coverage".

As we saw in 2004, Sufficient numbers of Americans CAN be fooled long enough to skate by an election. In 2004 it was "Reporters as Stenographers". In 2008 it will be "Reporters as Chearleaders".

It will likely work well enough through mid-November, which is all that is necessary. The fact that some time in 2015, as John McCain is winding down his second term (and an end to the American support of the Iraq Civil War continues un-abated), the media will go through another round of hand-wringing about how they were "fooled", AGAIN.

But it won't matter. Another member ofthe Bush Family will be ready to take his/her rightful place ruling America, after John McCain "kept the seat warm" for them for a few years. And our Media will fall for it and assist that election, every bit as much as they have in every election since 2002.

Re: "the Republicans have a populist streak that draws votes, even from people who don't really agree with their ideas."

It is not a populist streak. It IS a lapdog media who can be counted upon to repeat whatever the Republican talking points of the day are, unquestioned, on a daily basis.

They still are echoing the White House talking points now, despite the complete lack of credibilty on the part of the Bush team.

When youre reporting media developes 100% amnesia each morning, such actions work all the time.