Are the editors of Politico Magazine even aware of what they have previously published? One has to ask that question since a mere six weeks ago, that periodical published an article by Jack Shafer mocking the the notion of Beto O'Rourke idolatry in the media called "Stop the Press Before It Profiles Beto O’Rourke Again." So what did Politico Magazine do on December 1? It hyped O'Rourke as another Lincoln. I kid you not.
Before we dive into Beto as Abe idolatry, let us look at some excerpts from when Politico mocked such silly puffery provided by NewsBusters' Executive Editor, Tim Graham:
Not since the press corps fell in love with Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential campaign has such a sirocco of worshipful candidate profiles and commentaries appeared in the national press.
“Is Beto O’Rourke the Left’s Obama-like Answer to Trump in 2020?” asked Vanity Fair. “Beto O’Rourke Could Be the Democrat Texas Has Been Waiting For,” offered BuzzFeed. Still more positive Beto coverage sprinkled the pages of Yahoo News, Time, GQ, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, the New York Times, Politico and Esquire as they worked off the same template. The Washington Post indulged Betomania with a feature, another feature, a column and the sort of ancillary coverage it ordinarily gives the Washington Redskins.
The media’s adoration for the three-term House member from El Paso knows a simple origin. He’s lauded and cuddled by reporters for the simple reason that he’s not Ted Cruz, the Skeletor of American politics.
And now let us read author Mark Perry (and the Politico editors) completely ignoring Shafer's warning in the same publication against the press puffing O'Rourke in "Beto Has a Path to the Presidency: Lincoln’s."
O’Rourke has not compared himself to Abraham Lincoln outright, but that hasn’t stopped others from noting some similarities as they muse about his potential presidential run.
...Those who might dismiss the Lincoln-O’Rourke analogy do well to scoff; despite their common traits, the two are vastly different—and 2020 is not 1860. But the comparisons are intriguing nonetheless. Like Lincoln, O’Rourke is charismatic, tall, lanky, filled with energy, an accomplished public speaker and a natural campaigner. Like Lincoln, O’Rourke is a can-do underdog with an ability to command an audience and energize an army of followers. And finally—just like Lincoln—O’Rourke would begin his quest for the presidency (he says he’s not a candidate, but who believes that), following a Senate campaign that he actually lost.
The long paean to the idea of Beto Lincoln goes on and on to such an extent that one has to wonder if Jack Shafer will return with an updated article titled, "Stop Politico Before It Profiles Beto as Lincoln Again."
One of the Politico readers brought the latest Beto puffery down to earth with this observation:
Another little known fact—Lincoln ALSO played bass in a punk band!
