Dem Congressman's Refusal to Endorse 'Liberal' Obama Goes Largely Ignored

If a Republican Congressman publicly announced that he will not endorse John McCain because the GOP presidential nominee is too conservative and has a track record of refusing to reach across the aisle to work with Democrats, would the press report it?

Probably 24 hours a day, seven days a week until this Republican Congressman became a household name, right?

Well, on Tuesday, the Associated Press revealed the name of a Democrat Congressman from Oklahoma that is refusing to endorse Barack Obama for president because he believes the nominee is "the most liberal senator" in the nation whose "record does not reflect working in a bipartisan fashion."

Oddly, this announcement went almost completely ignored by television news outlets while garnering no attention from major newspapers such as the New York Times, Washington Post, and USA Today:

Democratic Rep. Dan Boren of Oklahoma said Tuesday Barack Obama is "the most liberal senator" in Congress and he has no intention of endorsing him for the White House.

However, Boren will vote for Obama at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August and will vote Democratic on Nov. 4. [...]

Boren, the lone Democrat in Oklahoma's congressional delegation, said that while Obama has talked about working with Republicans, "unfortunately, his record does not reflect working in a bipartisan fashion."

Boren, a self-described centrist, is seeking a third term this year in a mostly rural district that stretches across eastern Oklahoma.

"We're much more conservative," Boren said of district. "I've got to reflect my district. No one means more to me than the people who elected me. I have to listen them." He called Obama "the most liberal senator in the U.S. Senate."

According to LexisNexis, the only television outlets to address this matter were CNN -- on Tuesday's "Lou Dobbs Tonight" and Wednesday's "CNN Newsroom" -- and very surprisingly MSNBC on Tuesday's "Race for the White House with David Gregory."

Even more shocking, the perilously liberal Rachel Maddow -- of Air America Radio infamy -- not only reported this news to Gregory, but also considered it to be a very important development:

RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: That`s right, David. While the Republicans predictably hit Barack Obama from the right today, my headline is about him being blindsided. Republicans are calling him a tax- and-spend liberal. You`d expect that. But he got some surprising news from a Democratic conservative congressman today named Dan Boren. He`s the son of former Oklahoma governor and senator David Boren, who happens to be an enthusiastic supporter.

Boren Jr. told reporters today that he will not endorse Obama`s run for the presidency because Obama is "too liberal." Now, what`s the significance of this? Granted, Dan Boren himself is obscure enough that you`d have to explain who he`s the son of before anybody understands what you`re talking about. But for Obama, this could be a worrying sign about conservative Democrats who backed Clinton being unwilling to join Obama`s camp.

A worrying sign? Sure, if more news outlets covered it, Rachel.

Regardless, NewsBusters has been very hard on Maddow in the past, but must give her credit for reporting what few in the Obama-loving media have yet dared to.