Is There A Media Double Standard?

I have heard all the whining by this candidate or that about just how unfair the media is being to them and their campaign. But is it? Is one candidate getting a free ride? Is there less scrutiny of some candidates?

I say NO! There is no free ride. In the beginning the Clinton machine pushed her as the inevitable candidate with more Washington experience. The media did their job to point out her shortcomings and her strengths. The media also played into the inevitability thing and reported on Obama as a fresh new candidate, but a loser, in the beginning of this election cycle. The media used early polls to show that he was anything but a viable candidate.

All that began to fade once he took Iowa. He came under more scrutiny and more attention. Then the bombshell of New Hampshire and Clinton once again became the darling of the media with her amazing comeback. BAM! Obama is on a roll wth election wins and he has become the darling once again. That could change with Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The point is, the media goes with the story. Obama is the story. Whining will only make the situation worse for the one in the shadows. IMO, both Democratic candidates are getting a free ride. Why? They are never made to give specifics to questions. The media, for the most part, seldom asks hard detailed questions and allows the surrogates to spout the campaign trail BS. For instance, Bill Clinton, on the stump, said that the campaign was working on a shoestring budget. The same day Clinton campaign biggie, Macauliffe said that had more than enough money to continue the campaign to the end. The interviewer never asked which was it, good or bad financially. I would have asked.

The media is playing the game it always plays. It allows the campaigns to say whatever it is the want to say and seldom challenges anything they say. Why? Access! They are all so worried that if they make one or the other campaign anger they will lose access. Sad! MSNBC recently gave an analyst, Schuster, two weeks off because he made some comment about Chelsea and the Clinton people took exception. I find that interesting because the owner of MSNBC is GE and GE is a major player in the DLC, which is a supporter of Clinton. Go figure!