SOME THOUGHTS ON NOT SO SUPER TUESDAY MORNING

We won’t know the results of today’s four primaries until later tonight, but I have a feeling it won’t be settled.

The media has obviously taken to heart the accusation that they’ve been treating Obama too gently, which they hadn’t (calling his emerging political charisma “cult-like” from the beginning, etc.) but certainly aren’t anymore if they were.

The bits of Obama’s speeches the media is selecting lately haven’t been coming across like the hits of inspiration and hope that have so many of us excited about his candidacy.

While Hilary seems to be relishing the underdog position She often casts herself as the victim of gender discrimination, as if an African-American man with a funny name who few had heard of before the campaign was somehow the establishment. And has the media helping by continually pointing out that Obama’s campaign is outspending hers on TV ads in Texas and Ohio by two (or more, depending on the news venue) to one etc.

The snippets of her speeches turning up on cable and network news lately, often make her seem feisty and on target and, well, even inspiring, certainly for the enthusiastic audiences the media now seems to be favoring close ups of over the ones they were featuring from Obama’s rallies but haven’t been in the past few days much.

The clips they’re using lately from Obama’s speeches, or responses to questions, seem chosen to make him seem a little cocky, even smug. It makes sense the media would want the primary season to drag on, because it makes for better news to have a horse race rather than a clear winner.

But the double standard that Hilary keeps referring to in terms of gender, is still used most often against Obama. As I pointed out in my recent “double standard” post, once again Obama’s feet were held to the fire by the media concerning the Nation of Islam’s leader, Louis Farrakhan, having “endorsed” Obama, from afar by the way, with Obama nowhere in sight nor accepting it.

But he had to “reject” and “denounce” Farrakhan’s support because of negative things Farrakhan has said about the Jewish religion. (But wait a minute, doesn’t the Jewish religion describe Jewish folks as “chosen” making those who aren’t Jewish, what? Rejected? Seems to me, the Jewish religion is just as narrow-minded and restrictive and oppressive and self-righteous and prejudiced and self-centered as any other.)

But as I pointed out, other groups seem to be fair game. As we saw with McCain’s endorsement from that Christian fundamentalist who has made many negative comments about the Catholic religion, comments just as bad or more so than Farrakhan’s about the Jewish one.

But McCain wasn’t pushed to “denounce” and “reject” an actual endorsement, that McCain received in person, on camera, all friendly and hand-shaking, back-patting masculine-mutual-respect style.

When questioned about it, and the obvious double standard of it vis-à-vis Obama and Farrakhan, McCain could just say some vague comment about how you can’t control where your endorsements come from.

And Hilary was given the same leeway when confronted with those who endorse her but have made comments seen as equally offensive by various groups (Vietnam POWs for one, ala Gloria Steinham, whose question about why McCain’s time as a POW in Viet Nam qualifies him as president was actually not a bad one) was allowed, by the media, to be even more vague in her response.

Clinton’s Karl Rove style fear-mongering ads and sound bites about how more prepared she is to answer the nonexistent red phone in the white house at 3AM (Is she implying she’ll be up and in the oval office every night at 3AM in her pantsuit waiting for phone calls?) unfortunately may work, as her self-victimizing gender identity stuff also might work (remember New Hampshire after the tears of frustration and disappointment that so many women seemed to identify with?)

I’d like to see Obama wrap it up, so the Democrats can hopefully unite behind him and start focusing on winning in November. But I’m afraid that’s not going to happen, and we’re going to see more carping and low blows and opportunities for the Republicans to exploit in the general campaign, whenever that gets started for real.