Obamamania

Here's my column from today's National Post about how white reporters are covering black Barack Obama. An excerpt:

Take an "interview" three weeks ago on Good Morning America. Chris Cuomo asked Obama, "What do you think the bigger obstacle is for you in becoming president, the Clinton campaign machine or America's inherent racism?"

That's not reporting. That's not even about Obama. That's Cuomo showing how enlightened he is. Diane Sawyer asked Obama whether he thought America was "secretly … more racist or more sexist." That's what this campaign is to liberals: identity politics. Obama is nothing more than a black candidate. Hillary Clinton is nothing more than a female candidate.

For liberal, white Baby Boom reporters, Obamamania is a way to expiate their own prejudices -- and to project their guilt onto America.

They're giving Obama a free ride. Their euphoria is a form of journalistic affirmative action. And when Obama loses -- not for being black, but for being unready and ideologically extreme -- the media euphoria will turn to national self-flagellation.