Everything good that happens is because of Barack Obama.  Everything bad is attributable to George Bush or Dick Cheney or Sarah Palin or some other Republican.  In keeping with these mainstream media-manufactured verities, USA Today's Web site reports "President-elect Obama's actions perk up stock market."  The story begins:

President-elect Barack Obama hasn't even moved into the White House yet. But Wall Street is already showering him with praise for injecting confidence into the battered psyche of investors and working quickly to hatch a plan meant to jolt the economy out of its worst funk in decades.

A market that two weeks ago was desperate for political leadership and a clear strategy to repair the economy appears to have found it in Obama, who is fast emerging as a decisive economic commander in chief.

Stocks soared last week after Obama moved aggressively to fill the power vacuum until he's sworn in and demonstrated his commitment to dig the USA out of its economic rut.

How did USA Today determine that Wall Street is "showering" Obama with praise?  Easy.  They found two people who have good things to say about him.  Harris Private Bank's chief investment officer opines that Obama has been "a solid force behind the recent moves in the stock market."  And a hedge fund manager believes "the market is thinking that Obama will put a fix to (the economy)."

USA Today is correct that stocks soared last week.  What the outlet didn't mention was that, as reported by the New York Times, November 4 saw the biggest stock gains of any Election Day in 24 years while the next day the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 486 points.  Bloomberg.com noted: "The stock market posted its biggest plunge following a presidential election . . ."

The Dow was at about 9,600 the day Obama was elected.  As of this writing, it's under 8,500.

That's some real perking up.  It's great to see all that hope and change kicking in so quickly.  In the meantime, the MSM will keep up its mantra that anything good that happens is strictly the result of actions taken by The One.      

If it's Sunday, it must be worship time at the Temple of Obama, at least at the Chicago Tribune.  Today the top of the front page has a picture of Barack and Michelle embracing.  The headline is:  "White House romances: Obamas' affection is notable among presidential pairs."  Page 4 carries the story, also shown on the Trib's Web site with the headline "Scenes from Obamas' love story."  We learn:

Over the last two years the future first couple has made a practice of sharing such small, intimate moments on the grandest of stages, whether trading fist bumps, whispering "I love you" or stealing quick kisses on the campaign trail.

The Obamas' unabashed affection for each other suggests they could become the one of the most engaging sets of lovebirds in White House history. Though the home has known many deeply committed couples (as well as some infamously uncommitted), few were as young, attractive or willing to put their passion on public display.

Page 3 of the newspaper details the availability of Obama Christmas tree ornaments, along with where they can be purchased:

There are ornaments for sale on Web sites such as etsy.com and cafepress.com. Some feature Obama's face with notes such as "thanks Santa." Others simply show the blue and red symbol for change that was used in Obama's campaign materials. One ornament shows Barack and Michelle Obama wearing red and white Santa hats and grinning widely. Prices range from $7 to $56.

On Harris' ornament, available for $56 at etsy.com, Obama is sketched as an angel, carrying a banner that reads "Adeste Fideles," which is translated as "O come, all ye faithful." He has a robe over his stiff-collar shirt, and his tie is flying in the wind.

The account notes the designer of Obama as angel ornaments has only sold 29 so far.  That's to be expected.  After all, being an angel is a demotion for The One.  Still, "he's outselling Sarah Palin 7-1," so there's still plenty of - you guessed it - hope, especially with the nice plug in a major newspaper on a Sunday.

Since readers need more Obama news, page 11 has the heartwarming Washington Post piece titled "Suddenly, their name is the one to have: Obama."  It's about people who share that distinguished name and now are reaping the benefits.  It begins:

Nicanor Obama began to realize he might be on to a good thing when he didn't get a speeding ticket not long ago. After stopping the 28-year-old for a little downtown Washington lead-footing, a District of Columbia police officer looked at his driver's license and put the citation book away.

"He said, 'Well, I'm going to let you go because you have the Obama name,'" is how the Arlington, Va., resident recalled the encounter.

The same page has the Associated Press article "American? Yes. But no regular Joe."  It's about how uncommon names will achieve greater acceptability because of Barack Obama:

The more people hear it, the more mainstream a name becomes, said Don Nilsen, a professor of English linguistics at Arizona State University and co-president of the American Name Society.

"Who is more American than the president of the United States?" he said. "There's no question it will have a ripple effect, because of the power of the position."

Who is more American than the president of the United States?  C'mon, doc, you're killing us with those straight lines.

Readers of the Trib's Web site get even more Obama information.  They're treated to this "Breaking News" from 1:45 AM this morning:

Pool reports on Barack Obama's day:

11:02: p.m. After a three-hour dinner at Frontera Grill, the Obamas left the restaurant with Marty Nesbitt and Nesbitt's wife, Anita Blanchard. The motorcade dropped off Nesbitt and Blanchard at their home and then the Obamas.

8 p.m. The president-elect and Michelle Obama arrive at the River North restaurant after picking up friend Marty Nesbitt and his wife, Anita Blanchard at their house.

11:07 a.m. Obama returns home after morning workout.

9:27 a.m. Leaves house for morning workout.

Distressingly, the paper doesn't report exactly what the Obamas ate during that three-hour dinner.  Or perhaps that vital information will be part of "Breaking News" later today.  More crucially, Tribune readers deserve to know if the young, attractive and willing to put their passion on public display couple engaged in any heavy fist bumping or other acts of affection. 

More Obama, that's what we need.  And the Chicago Tribune keeps delivering.  

Both of Chicago's major dailies have sold out editions containing special "commemorative" sections devoted to Barack Obama.  Judging by today's Chicago Tribune, perhaps the strategy is to push out an Obama commemorative issue every day.

The top half of the front page includes a huge color photo of a smiling Obama in a Chicago deli yesterday, a color picture of Obama with one of his daughters, and a color shot of a Chicago crowd watching Obama's motorcade speed by.  "At home: A brief taste of normalcy" is the accompanying story and it notes:

On Friday, he made time to leave the office briefly to pick up a corned beef sandwich and cherry pie from Manny's Coffee Shop & Deli, a favorite spot for Chicago politicians.

"I'm just glad to be out," Obama said amid applause and shouts of congratulations from surprised diners.

Yet the roughly 15-minute stop seemed more designed to provide a media photo opportunity—the first in nearly a week—than to let the president-elect step out for some fresh air.

Obama has made clear that he wants quality time with family before he is sworn in Jan. 20 as the 44th president.

As he settled into his new homebody life, aides had suggested a block of time for political calls during evening hours when his two daughters are still awake. That didn't fly.

"He said, 'Can we back that up, guys?' " an aide said. "He wanted to read to them and tuck them in, so we do the calls a little bit later."

Obama is a man of discipline and routine, and he has had exactly that in recent days, even finding time Wednesday evening to watch his daughter in a performance at a Michigan Avenue theater.

After his morning workout, Obama typically heads into his transition office in the Loop between 9 and 10 a.m. Most days, he's home by about 6 p.m. The trade-off, of course, is that he has lost some of the few freedoms he had before the election.

Talk about multitasking.  He makes deli appearances, he tucks his children into bed, he work outs, he transitions.  Is there nothing this "man of discipline and routine" doesn't do?

You wouldn't know it by reading the Tribune.  The front page also includes the headline "Market soars on Treasury choice: Obama selects New York Fed chief, solidifies his economic team." We learn that Obama's shrewd move "sent the Dow Jones industrial rocketing up."  Gee, that's funny.  Ever since Obama won, the markets have generally been dropping faster than Bill Clinton's shorts, but Obama wasn't blamed for it.  Now the markets bounce back a little and he's The One responsible.

Additionally, the Trib's page one has a color shot of Hillary Clinton with the headline "Senator 'on track' to be secretary of state."  And if that isn't enough Barack for you, the front page plugs a sports section story: "Obama makes splash with Olympic video."  The first section of the paper has, on page 15, a picture of admirers waiting for the Obamamobile as well as yet another one of Barry waving to fans in the deli.

What we're witnessing is Obamamania on steroids among the mainstream media.  Perhaps the Tribune or another enterprising news outlet will come up with a special audio commemorative for Obama, something starting with "Come Let Us Adore Him."     

The election is over, but quite clearly the Palin Derangement Syndrome suffered by many in the mainstream media isn't.  This morning's CNN Reliable Sources was typical.  Joining host Howard Kurtz to discuss Sarah Palin were Beth Fouhy, an Associated Press political reporter, Baltimore Sun TV critic David Zurawik, and Julie Mason, the Washington Examiner's White House correspondent.  Mason opined: "I don't think she helped herself at all this past week. I think she actually probably made it worse."  To Zurawik, the Alaska governor's recent interview with NBC's Matt Lauer "shows you how in a way, deviously clever Palin is in trying to repair her image."  Then it was the AP reporter's time to take a few shots:

FOUHY: Well, I think what we learned is that she is extremely ambitious. I guess we already knew that, but she's as ambitious as ever despite the brutal campaign that she herself described that she went through. But she's also pretty unprepared.

I was really surprised by the interviews that she did, because she didn't really come with an agenda other than to just put herself out there and say, hey, I'm still around and I like talking to you guys. She didn't clearly articulate what she plans to do next, she didn't focus on issues that she wants to stress as governor. And she also was given a pass on a bunch of things which I thought was very surprising about why she didn't appeal to women more.

I mean, the fact is polling showed that she was a real drag on the ticket. And she was never really confronted with that issue. Like, how could she really rehabilitate herself to go forward as a national figure given how badly overall she did as a candidate?

There are polls and then there are polls.  Fouhy could have mentioned the exit poll cited by the Pew Research Center: "Yet those who cited Palin's selection as a factor in their vote -- 60% of all voters -- favored McCain by 56% to 43%."  Or she could have noted the Rasmussen poll taken after the election that found: "Sixty-nine percent (69%) of Republican voters say Alaska Governor Sarah Palin helped John McCain’s bid for the presidency. . ."

Even the Washington Post's Chris Cillizza wrote today of how Sarah Palin helped the GOP ticket:

For skittish conservatives looking for more evidence that McCain understood their needs and concerns, Palin did the trick. It's hard to imagine conservatives rallying to McCain -- even to the relatively limited extent that they did -- without Palin on the ticket. And without the base, McCain's loss could have been far worse.

On CNN, Reliable Sources aren't so reliable.  Democratic partisans masquerading as objective reporters aren't satisfied merely to have helped put Obama in the White House.  They now need to damage Sarah Palin's political future.

Mainstream media Obamamania continues building.  Today's Chicago Tribune includes yet another "souvenir section" titled "Obama: A Life in Photos."  Moreover, there are articles in the newspaper's first section on the current owner of a 2000 Dodge Neon once owned by Obama, a doodle crafted by the senator that last year sold for $2,075, and how Illinois "bureaucrats are trying to figure out whether they should preserve for posterity the chair that cushioned his posterior."   Page 19 carries "They met Obama when. . . "  Also on the paper's Web site, the article begins:

After the man with the big ears and the funny name became president-elect of the United States, Chicagoans were happy to tell their stories, boasting to anyone who'd listen about that time they met Barack Obama.

Some recalled Obama's confidence; others were struck by his movie-star smile.

The people quoted in the piece include two of Obama's brothers-in-laws and Illinois Senate president Emil Jones, Jr., the former Chicago sewer inspector often described as Obama's political godfather.  Talk about fair and balanced.

A minister who met Obama as a young community organizer says he "was very much impressed."  The University of Chicago law professor who recruited Obama to teach found him "very, very forthright."

In case those encomia are inadequate, White Sox general manager Kenny Williams recalls being "very impressed by Obama's political passion."  A community activist remembers meeting him in 1985: "By the time he left the interview, we knew he was the one."

The One?  Was she among the first to recognize His Messiahship's powers and abilities that are far beyond those of mortal men?  These qualities extend even to the mundane.  A Chicago chef who observes, "When he smiles, you just melt," was able to regain his composure long enough to note "the Obamas really knew something about food.  They had ordered well."

How many of us have left a restaurant bitterly upset with ourselves because we hadn't ordered well?  I know I have.

Can the Tribune maintain its frenzied elation for the next two months?  What does it plan?  A "souvenir section" every day?  More coverage of other Obama in-laws?  In depth interviews with folks who've taken Obama's orders at McDonalds?

Surveys have shown that media types tend to be less religious than most Americans.  Since The One arrived to deliver us from ourselves, however, much of the mainstream media appears to be in perpetual adoration mode.

Perhaps some in the mainstream media are starting to acquire a few of the Superman qualities enjoyed by The One.  Yesterday on the 3:00 PM edition of CNN Newsroom, anchor Rick Sanchez demonstrated his impressive mind-reading abilities.  He had shown a clip of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaking.  Discussing her presentation with a panel of guests, he - as anchors are wont to do - moved the conversation into a direction he preferred:

SANCHEZ: Well, let's talk about this, too, because I think this is important. You know, a lot of people are watching at home and they listen to her speak and they're thinking, why don't I understand what she's saying? Is there a syntax problem here?

In fact, we've got one now. This is MySpace, right? Yes. This is a MySpace comment that just came in moments ago. Have you got that, Robert?

"Oh, my God. She did not talk about Joe -- not the plumber. I get confused trying to listen and understand what she's talking about." She says, "I feel dumber and dumber by the second."

You know, I mean it's not to pick on her, but there are people who get that perception from her. Adam, do you think she's held her own in terms of knowing what she's talking about in the public forum?

How in the world does he know that "a lot of people are watching at home and they listen to her speak and they're thinking, why don't I understand what she's saying?"  Or did he base that on the weight of one, count 'em one, MySpace comment?  

I'm going to use my own mind-reading skills and conjecture that it's Sanchez who doesn't understand Sarah Palin.  More precisely, it's her obvious popularity with much of the American public that he can't fathom.  Not that he's picking on her or anything.

Forewarned is forearmed, so I hope that the CNN anchor's regular viewers will protect themselves with aluminum foil hats so he can't read their minds.  On second thought, perhaps they already exercise that precaution.  

On Thursday, CNN aired "Escape from Jonestown," presented by CNN special investigations unit corespondent Soledad O'Brien.  This week marks thirty years since the horrific deaths of more than 900 people, roughly a third of them children, at Jonestown.  The massacre was orchestrated by "Reverend" Jim Jones.  What CNN barely referenced was Jones's connection to several leading Democratic politicians of the time.  O'Brien did identify Jones as a believer in socialism and, with a survivor, passingly alluded to his influence in the Democratic Party:

O'BRIEN: In 1975, Jones moved his church headquarters from Redwood Valley down to San Francis, to a larger stage, where he became a political force and a face in photo-ops.

GOSNEY: Roslyn (sic) Carter was campaigning for Jimmy Carter. I believe that was 1976. And there was going to be a rally downtown. Literally, we stuffed the building. We were -- we were the rally.

Jones was much more than a face in a photo-op.  Democratic San Francisco Mayor George Moscone appointed him to the city's housing authority. Willie Brown, who later served as Democratic Speaker of the California Assembly, in 1976 introduced Jones as a combination Martin Luther King, Angela Davis, Albert Einstein and Chairman Mao.

That same year Senator Walter Mondale, later elected vice president, invited Jones to meet with him on his campaign plane. The People's Temple chief also had a personal meeting with Jimmy Carter's wife, Rosalynn.

Jones referenced that in 1977 when he wrote to the First Lady and recommended the U.S. government give Cuba medical supplies. He mentioned his "deep appreciation for the privilege of dining privately with you prior to the election." She replied by saying she'd enjoyed the experience and hoped the U.S. would adopt his suggestion on Cuba.

When Jones moved his operation to Guyana, he brought with him written accolades from several liberal Democrats.

Wrote Walter Mondale: "Knowing of your congregation's deep involvement in the major social and constitutional issues of our country is a great inspiration to me."

Alaska Senator Mike Gravel thought the People's Temple "was almost too good to be true." California Congressman Don Edwards expressed the wish that "there were more like the people of the People's Temple Christian Church."

Joseph Califano, an official in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations and secretary of health, education and welfare for Jimmy Carter wrote Jones: "Knowing your commitment and compassion, your interest in protecting individual liberty and freedom have made an outstanding contribution to furthering the cause of human dignity."

Former Vice President Hubert Humphrey said that Jones' work "is testimony to the positive and truly Christian approach to dealing with the myriad problems confronting our society today."

No, Jim Jones was more than just a face in a photo-op.  He benefited from the attention and praise of several notable Democratic politicians of the era.  In a two-hour program, that relevant part of history should have been reported.

Studs Terkel, author and broadcaster, died on Halloween.  Barack Obama observed: "Studs was not just a Chicago institution, he was a national treasure. His writings, broadcasts, and interviews shed light on what it meant to be an American in the 20th century."  Obama highly praised Terkel when he was alive, declaring him " not just a national treasure - he's one of Chicago's treasures."  Terkel's appeal to liberals may at least partially be explained by his political activities.  The Associated Press today reports:

Terkel's politics were liberal, vintage FDR. He would never forget the many New Deal programs from the Great Depression and worried that the country suffered from "a national Alzheimer's disease" that made government the perceived enemy.

So what does the Associated Press view as liberal, vintage FDR politics?  An October, 1952 Chicago Tribune news article began:

"Louis (Studs) Terkel, disc jockey, TV entertainer, and one-time political broadcaster, declined yesterday to discuss charges by Owen Vinson that Vinson joined the Communist party in 1943 at the invitation of Terkel.

"Vinson, former Chicago radio writer, director, and actor, made the charge Thursday in Los Angeles before the house committee on un-American activities.  Vinson has left the party, he testified."  At least one other person also provided sworn testimony that he had joined the party at Terkel's invitation.

The news article goes on to report that Terkel refused to say whether he was or had been a Communist.  He also stated:

"I have an overwhelming pity and contempt for Mr. Vinson.  Here is a nightmarish example of what fear and hysteria can do to the human spirit.  It makes of a man the lowest of God' creatures - an informer.

"I've always believed in the principle that a man's thoughts, whether political or religious, are his private domain. . . . "

I'd contend thoughts are in a man's private domain until such time that he joins, and asks others to join, an organization dedicated to destroying basic freedoms.

Terkel as a victim, persecuted by Joe McCarthy and other Commie hunters, is a recurring theme in articles written about the late Chicagoan.  Today's Chicago Tribune used its editorial space to eulogize him and notes:

He was an actor and a jazz columnist and even had his own network TV show until his contract was canceled after he became one of the targets of Sen. Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee. He was not the kind of man to name names, and in the superheated Red panic of the early 1950s, that meant his TV career was over.

I can find no articles in the Tribune's own archives reporting that Terkel was ever investigated by Joe McCarthy.  As chairman of the Committee on Government Operations, McCarthy's primary focus was on security risks within the federal government rather than variety show hosts.  And Terkel wasn't asked to "name names."  He was asked if, as sworn to by at least two people, he was a Communist recruiting others into the party.

Furthermore, Terkel's cancellation occurred before the October, 1952 investigation.  The Tribune's "Tower Ticker" column of June 26, 1952 mentions "'Studs' Place' is off the TV air, but its cast still is united in an enterprise that begins to look discouraging."  The cast, including Terkel, was appearing in a play.

If Terkel were indeed blacklisted, as asserted in reports of his death, it must not have been for long.  The Tribune's "Television News and Views" dated August 6, 1953 relates: "Studs Terkel and Chet Roble the other evening introduced a watered down version (or perhaps we should say liquored down) version of the old Studs Place series because there was a bar on the set at WBKB."  The article goes on to describe the rest of the program.  And a December 12, 1954 Tribune piece on singer Mahalia Jackson included a picture of the great gospel singer "With Studs Terkel, who writes her radio show."

Terkel also hosted, beginning in 1952, a radio program on WFMT that ran until the 1990s.

Last week, Terkel made a small amount of news by telling a Huffington Post writer that Gov. Sarah Palin is "Joe McCarthy in drag!"  In the same interview he said:

Community organizers like Obama know what's going on. If they remember. The important thing is memory. You know in this country, we all have Alzheimer's.

In the case of the mainstream media, it appears they suffer from manufactured memories.  Terkel wasn't investigated by Joe McCarthy, he wasn't out of work for any sustained period because of a blacklist, and his politics weren't liberal, vintage FDR.

He was a guy who wouldn't say whether he was a Communist and, apparently, a guy who - charitably - exaggerated a great deal.  And the mainstream media bought it all. 

Like much of the mainstream media, CNN anchor Jack Cafferty has set aside any pretense of objectivity in this year's presidential election.  On today's Situation Room he used a "Cafferty File" segment, in which a question is posed to viewers for their response, to attack GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.  He prefaced the question:

But McCain chose Sarah Palin, who immediately became a national joke to everybody, except the conservative base of the Republican Party. Even some Republicans are convinced the Palin selection showed a total lack of judgment on McCain's part.

Oh, what about Florida Governor Charlie Crist? Would winning Florida help John McCain? You get the idea here.

Here's the question: Was it a mistake for John McCain to pick Sarah Palin as his running mate?

Last Thursday, his question for viewers was if they think John McCain has run an honorable campaign.  Some of his background "information":

In fact, in the last few weeks, John McCain has become downright nasty.

It began around the time -- you'll recall this -- the time that one of his advisers said that if McCain campaigned on the economy, he would lose. And the ugly personal attacks began: Barack Obama's past acquaintance with William Ayers; Barack Obama's economic plan is socialism; Barack Obama will say anything to get elected. His running mate, Sarah Palin, chimed in with such gutter-level rhetoric as Obama pals around with terrorists.

Wednesday found Cafferty asking "Should Sarah Palin reimburse Alaska taxpayers for her children's travel and entertainment expenses?"  He prefaced that with, "How do you present yourself as any kind of candidate of reform when the practices you employ puts you in the very same category of every other (emphasis added) two-bit, sleazy, opportunistic politician that has come before you.

On Tuesday, Cafferty asked "Why do citizens in 70 foreign countries prefer Barack Obama to John McCain by a margin of nearly 4 to 1? Simply stunning numbers."

Obviously, only a handful of viewers' responses can be read on the air.  Cafferty often exhibits the same balance in selecting them as he does in choosing his questions.  For example, he read six replies on why Obama is so popular overseas; five were anti-McCain.

Even when asking, as he also did on Tuesday, if a Democratic congressman calling some voters in his state racist will hurt Obama, Cafferty had to drag in the GOP:

Democratic Congressman John Murtha from Pennsylvania is challenging Republican Governor Sarah Palin for who can say the stupidest things on the campaign trail. Right now, it's pretty much a dead heat.

Jack could bring up many issues challenging Obama and Biden, but doesn't.  By including Cafferty's undisguised contempt for the McCain-Palin ticket, host Wolf Blitzer has made The Situation Room absurdly partisan.  He should urge his bosses at CNN to give Cafferty and his increasingly intemperate ravings their own venue.  It could be called The Rubber Room.      

In case you've been in a cave the last few news cycles, it's been widely reported that the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska's largest newspaper, has endorsed Barack Obama.  Typical was this from NPR's Morning Edition:

Newspapers have been making presidential endorsements. Republican John McCain won the backing of his home state's largest paper, The Arizona Republic. The Chicago Tribune endorsed Chicago resident Barack Obama — the first time that paper has endorsed a Democratic candidate for president. And Obama received the backing from another paper you might not expect — the Anchorage Daily News. The state's largest newspaper was not swayed by the fact that McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, is the state's governor.

Over at the Christian Science Monitor's election blog, the headline is, "Anchorage Daily News supports… Obama?"

The newspaper's endorsement of the Democratic candidates can hardly be characterized as unexpected.  The Anchorage Daily News endorsed John Kerry in 2004 and Al Gore in 2000.  It backed Bill Clinton in both 1996 and 1992, and Michael Dukakis in 1988.  Its 1992 endorsement of Clinton began with a familiar theme:

"Change" is about the first word from Bill Clinton's lips at every campaign stop. But Gov. Clinton offers more than just change for change's sake. He offers something this country no longer associates with politicians:

Hope.

As far back as 1976, Time magazine reported:

Unchanged, however, is the paper's willingness to assume unpopular editorial positions; it champions gun control (anathema in Alaska) and stricter environmental protection laws. The Daily News generally supports Democrats and endorsed George McGovern for President in 1972.

That such a newspaper still backs Democrats isn't earth shaking news, despite media efforts to make it appear that way. 

On Thursday's ABC World News, anchor Charles Gibson's lead-off story was on the presidential campaign:

"Two weeks, five days to go, home stretch. Barack Obama and John McCain began today laying out their closing strategies. And while Obama continues to hold a double-digit lead in most national polls, it is the results in individual states that are all important."

The emphasis on Obama's supposedly huge, possibly insurmountable lead is used by some in the mainstream media to suggest the inevitability of a Democratic win.  But you have to wonder, at least in this instance, what polls ABC News is examining.  Obama enjoys a lead in most opinion surveys, but it's not as large as Gibson claimed.

Thursday's Gallup Daily poll showed a 49% to 43% Obama lead over McCain.
Rasmussen had it at 50% to 46%.
At Zogby, it was 49% to 43%.
The IBD /TIPP tracking poll showed the race at 45% to 42%
The RealClearPolitics poll average, which incorporates findings of 13 national polls, showed a 49.5 to 42.7 Obama lead.

Prospects for the McCain-Palin are not quite as bleak as some in the mainstream media would like.  But that doesn't mean they'll stop trying. 

Today's dose of unintended humor from the Chicago Sun-Times is Mary Mitchell's "McCain slings mud up from the low road."  It's a standard anti-John McCain diatribe from the increasingly venomous Mitchell.  To buttress her contention, she falls into tailoring her facts:

Throughout his campaign, Obama has been loathe to talk about race. And frankly, that apparently was a winning strategy since most people can't talk about race without getting angry.

And while black people used to be accused of whining when they talk about race, we're now called racist for daring to believe anyone can be racist.

But white people can apparently talk about race and get away with it.

Sun-Times columnist Andrew Greeley called out Palin in a way only a white writer can.

OK, Mary, let's try this once more.  Obama has not "been loathe to talk about race."  He's the one - or do you prefer The One? - who injected race into the campaign.

He did it when he said: "So nobody really thinks that Bush or McCain have a real answer for the challenges we face, so what they’re going to try to do is make you scared of me.  You know, he’s not patriotic enough. He’s got a funny name. You know, he doesn’t look like all those other presidents on those dollar bills, you know."

He did it when he said: “We know what kind of campaign they’re going to run.  They’re going to try to make you afraid of me. ‘He’s young and inexperienced and he’s got a funny name. And did I mention he’s black?'"

Mitchell's citing of Andrew Greeley is particularly amusing.  The Sun-Times's Loon Brigade is reduced to quoting one another to lend authenticity to their arguments.  Priceless.

I don't know about Mitchell's assertion that "most people can't talk about race without getting angry."  One thing's for sure:  Mary Mitchell can't.

Today's Chicago Sun-Times treats us to Andrew Greeley's thoughtful analysis, "Palin, McCain stir up storm of ugly racism."  Greeley begins:

"South Pacific" is a morality play for our time. Sarah Palin is the Ensign Nellie Forbush -- an All-American girl as racist, this time a racist with her eye on the White House. She can stir up crowds to shout "Kill him!" at the mention of the presidential candidate of the other party a couple of weeks before the national election.

And later:

Playing the race card explicitly merely guarantees what I have thought from the beginning -- racism in this country precludes the possibility of a sepia-colored man becoming president. However, the last-ditch attack on him guarantees that McCain and Palin will be blamed as the candidates who were content to hear crowds calling for the death of Obama.

Then Greeley completes his trip around the bend:

McCain increasingly acts like an angry, befuddled cancer survivor and treats his rival like a field n----- who is just barely human. He does not talk to him, will not shake hands with him, will not even look at him, walks behind him when he is speaking to distract the audience. Obama's languid, legs-crossed security on the bar stool must infuriate McCain all the more. Who does he think he is? He has no right to run for president and McCain does. Has not he served his country all his life? Has not he traveled the whole world? Has not he been involved in every major event of the last four decades? Does he not know everyone who is worth knowing? And what does his rival have to offer besides intolerable arrogance? Black skin and glib language? Is not Obama the one who is playing the race card? Therefore he must be exposed as what he is -- a pushy fellow with a glib tongue who has no right to challenge a great American like John McCain.

Greeley writes a column of commentary.  He's entitled to his own opinion - as twisted as it may be - but he's not entitled to his own facts.

There's absolutely no evidence that John McCain and Sarah Palin are "content to hear crowds calling for the death of Obama."  Taking a handful of instances and claiming they're frequent occurrences, Greeley contends the GOP is "playing the race card explicitly."  But when did either McCain or Palin introduce race into the campaign?  Liberals hate to acknowledge it, but Obama brought the subject up.

It was Obama who said: “We know what kind of campaign they’re going to run.  They’re going to try to make you afraid of me. ‘He’s young and inexperienced and he’s got a funny name. And did I mention he’s black?'"

It was Obama who said: "So nobody really thinks that Bush or McCain have a real answer for the challenges we face, so what they’re going to try to do is make you scared of me.  You know, he’s not patriotic enough. He’s got a funny name. You know, he doesn’t look like all those other presidents on those dollar bills, you know."

In attacking McCain and Palin for alleged racism, Greeley himself employs the most hurtful term in the racist lexicon, the n-word.

It's becoming more apparent as Election Day draws closer, that for Obamatons any iota of opposition to The One can only be explained by virulent racism.  The derangement syndrome rages on.    

Today on CNN's American Morning, Cook County sheriff Tom Dart was interviewed by anchor John Roberts.  Dart has announced his office will quit carrying out evictions stemming from mortgage foreclosures until lenders start exercising "due diligence."  During the interview, Dart made the point that some evictions involve people who have not defaulted on their mortgages, but have simply been paying rent to landlords who did. Roberts's comments at the end of the interview are telling:

ROBERTS: So the Illinois Bankers Association is accusing you of "vigilantism" and, quote, "at the highest level of an elected official." What do you say to that?

DART: I think the outrage is on my part with them. That they would so cavalierly issue documents and have me throw people out of homes who have done absolutely nothing wrong. They played by all the rules. And because of their ignorance and their lack of diligence and going out to their own property and finding out who is out there, innocent people are being set out.

I told them, you send an agent out, you send somebody out that gives me any type of assurance that the appropriate person is in the house, I will fulfill the order. But when you're just blindly sending me out to houses where I'm coming across innocent tenant after innocent tenant, I can't keep doing this right now and have a good conscience about it.

ROBERTS: There were some suggestions that they may seek to hold you in contempt of court for ignoring court orders. Are you willing to go that far?

DART: I am. Because as I say, my oath of office was to try to do what is just for the people in this county. And there is no justice being done when you have people who play by the rules, who are innocent, having no notice of court hearings and having all of their possessions put out on the street, their family humiliated, their children's lives being traumatized. And that's exactly what I see when I go out on these evictions.

ROBERTS: You know, you've got to remain impartial in all of this, Sheriff. But I could say it's good to meet one of the good guys once in a while.

So Dart is deemed one of the good guys by Roberts.  Is that because he refuses to do his job?  Because he ignores court orders?  Because he's decided which laws he wants to enforce and which ones he doesn't?  Because he's setting an incredibly bad example by breaking the laws he's sworn to uphold?

Some of the people Dart is attempting to protect from eviction are no doubt innocent.  They are in distress through no fault of their own.  At the same time, however, it's necessary to keep in mind that remedies for such inequities need to come from those who enact laws, not from those charged with enforcement.  Sheriffs aren't elected to pick and choose which laws they want to carry out. 

Dart, naturally, is a member in good standing of the Cook County Democratic Party.  So it's not surprising that he thinks laws apply to others, not to him.  Roberts's expression of support for Dart and his dereliction of duty, which likely will lead to fewer mortgage loans in Chicago and surrounding areas, suggests that's the way he also views the world.