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Help!
Sunday, Oct 22, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
“WE HAVE TO WATCH ED SULLIVAN TONIGHT OR I’LL JUST DIE!!!” Sheesh. We should’ve seen this coming earlier this year. Many of the nation’s top political reporters, who you normally couldn’t pry out of a comfortable tavern with a nuclear bomb, eagerly hopped and skipped like ecstatic little girls behind Barack Obama through some decidedly uncomfortable African locations. Then there was the TIME cover and the breathless coverage of his new book and subsequent publicity tour.
A normally sedate Tribune reporter even compared him to Abraham Lincoln today, for crying out loud. And it was a lousy analogy at that. Then there’s Steinberg, who turns to mush at the mere sight of the man. Neil, pull yourself together, dude. Having known him for several years and watched him develop and grow, I respect Barack Obama, like him a lot and even think he ought to seriously consider running for president while the hype is hot. I don’t believe that he’s the problem here. He doesn’t act like he thinks he’s the Beatles. The political press corps and the punditry are the problem. They’re the screaming teenagers. There’s such a thing as too much hype. The Beatles eventually stopped touring because nobody could hear their music over the roar of the crowd. The Fab Four then fought constantly in the studio and eventually broke up. The press needs to calm the heck down and stop raising expectations so high or they’re gonna destroy Obama. He’s not a god or a giant or even a great American leader (yet). He’s just a man, who a few short years ago was an obscure but Take a deep breath, girls. Please. 
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I’ve been chuckling as - once again - the national press corps has gone almost completely off its rocker today over the “news” about Barack Obama. I imagine parents must’ve felt this way in 1964 when their quiet, studious daughters turned into insane, screaming banshees at the mere mention of John, Paul, George and Ringo. 
This weekend, Obama opened the door to a presidential run a little bit more than he did the last time he published a book and the 
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Saturday radio & video blogging *** Updated x1 ***
Saturday, Oct 21, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller *** UPDATE *** The Hotline’s blog reports that JBT’s campaign is dark this weekend. IL: According to Hotline sources, Treas. Judy Baar Topinka’s campaign is off the air this weekend, less than three weeks before election day. The earliest she could go back on the air is Monday afternoon at this point. Will she go on that soon or is she saving money for the last week? The Hotline is usually pretty good, but they appear to have blown this one, or at least worded it so obtusely that it could be claimed that they blew it. The Topinka campaign says they’ll be back on the air Monday and will not be dark next week. They won’t confirm, but word is they’ll debut a new TV ad. I would bet money that the new ad will be about this guy, but one never knows for sure. [Hat tip: ArchPundit] * It ain’t much, but gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney (G) is running two different radio ads “on WCPT-AM 850 AM, the Chicago Air America Affiliate, and various Illinois Radio Network Stations,” according to the Green Party. * Chicago Public Radio’s Shawn Allee filed this reported, entitled, “IL’s 10th Congressional District Dems Buoyed by Volunteer Group”
* This week’s edition of Illinois Public Radio’s State Week in Review is below. You can subscribe to the show’s podcast by clicking here. * The following Internet parody ad shouldn’t be watched by those who are overly sensitive. Because of foul language it is not safe for work. The “ad” is obviously a piece of satire. I take it as biting commentary on the over-the-top attacks on Topinka. Others might take it as biting commentary on Topinka herself. Satire can be like that sometimes. Either way, I think it’s brilliant. And brilliance is always controversial. So, please, don’t watch it if you’re easily offended, because I really don’t want to read a lot of “shame on you, Rich Miller” comments. You’ve been warned.
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