The media in general, and MSNBC in particular, are so far into the tank for Barack Obama that even the far-left Bill Maher, on his HBO show Friday night, recognized “there is a problem...with the media gushing over him too much.” Specifically, though he didn't name co-anchors Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann, Maher pointed to MSNBC's coverage following Obama's acceptance speech: “The coverage after, that I was watching, from MSNBC, I mean these guys were ready to have sex with him.”
Maher's assessment, ironically enough, came in the midst of his panel (CBS Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine and NPR's Michel Martin) all effusively praising, along with Maher, Obama's Thursday night address concluding the Democratic Convention in Denver. Maher's full rebuke on the August 29 Real Time with Bill Maher:
I think there is a problem, though, with the media gushing over him too much. I don't think he thinks that he's all that, but the media does. I mean, the coverage after, that I was watching, from MSNBC, I mean these guys were ready to have sex with him....It's embarrassing.
Audio: MP3 clip (18 seconds, 100 Kb.) Video: click above or download wmv (1.2 Mb)
Earlier, Maher revealed that after watching Obama he finally understood, at least in his oddly conveyed manner, why conservatives are so enamored with Ronald Reagan:
I think I had a Reagan moment last night. I sort of understood when I was watching him make that speech what the Republicans feel when they talk about Ronald Reagan because I was always like, “why are they so gay about this guy?” I mean they just love him. They want to put him on a mountain and on the dollar bill and name airports after him....
We've had Democrats for so long absorbing their bullshit and this was a guy who was saying “No, I'm going to throw it right back in your face.” And to me this was very cathartic. I had a cathart!
As for the gushing by Matthews and Olbermann, Geoff Dickens' Thursday night NewsBusters post, with video, “Chris Matthews: 'To Hell With My Critics,' Obama 'Inspires Me!'” recounted:
Chris Matthews shook the proverbial fist at this detractors as he delivered praise for Barack Obama's acceptance speech during MSNBC's live coverage of the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night, earning loud applause from the audience gathered at the channel's outdoor location.
Leading into the Matthews outburst, Keith Olbermann oozed: "For 42 minutes not a sour note and spellbinding throughout in way usually reserved for the creations of fiction. An extraordinary political statement....I'd love to find something to criticize about it. You got anything?"
Matthews: "No. You know I've been criticized for saying he inspires me and to hell with my critics!"
