The Associated Press recently ran a story about the new "cool and casual" atmosphere in the Oval Office and accompanying the story was a picture of the new prez and the White House press corps.

    The pic shows Mr. Obama during a tour of the press corps digs and he's smiling and almost everyone around him is smiling, too and there's the rub for the anti-media gaggle.

    It will argue, the photograph is proof positive that the media is in love with the new president.  It's a theme that weaved its way throughout the campaign as the R's griped about all the favorable media coverage of the Obama phenomenon.

    It is always amazing how readers and viewers often believe a vast majority of reporters are liberal.  You know what, that may be true, but here's the part folks won't even consider let alone believe.

     The successful correspondents are very adept at putting those leanings on the shelve when they are doing their reporting thing.  If they didn't, they'd be fired.

     Liberal readers share the same bias with the right-wingers.  It's amusing to read their diatribes when the media criticizes Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

     "Obviously you are a conservative republican otherwise you would not treat her that way," is the most common observation.

       What those folks forget is that when John Engler was governor, he faced the same criticism which the left did not gripe about but the right did.

       Unfortunately for the media, which really strives to be fair, it gets whacked by both sides if they don't like what you are reporting.

       So while everyone in the pic with the prez was yoking it up and it looks like they adore Obama, don't kid yourself, when it comes time to cross exam him, they will not pull their punches.

       To wit, everyone is writing about how the Obama folks screwed up the nominations of the new Treasury Secretary and the pending Human Services Department director who both had tax problems.

       If this is love, the Obama gang wants no part of that.

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