Murdoch praises Obama? Don't trust it...

Hey, I took Psych 101, and when we hear a hard-line right-winger like Rupert Murdoch predicting a Barack Obama win in the fall, we all should call it out for what it really is - a big, steaming pile of GOP #2. C'mon, you don't have to be a political scientist to figure out what he's trying to do here - a lil' reverse psychology. It's not in Murdoch's best interests for Obama to win the election this fall, so don't think for a second that Murdoch and his "network," Fox Noise Channel, won't do everything in its power to propel John McCain to the White House.

For instance, Obama recently publicly said that the Sherman Antitrust Act ought to be reinforced, and if an Obama administration decided to do just that, it could possibly spell an end to News Corp's hegemony (and maybe even right-wing talk radio, too). I also think it's time to bring back the Fairness Doctrine, something President Reagan allowed to lapse in 1987.

Anyway, here is some of what Murdoch had to say about Obama:

He is a rock star. It's fantastic. I love what he is saying about education. I don't think he will win Florida.....but he will win in Ohio and the election. I am anxious to meet him. I want to see if he will walk the walk.

Again, I'm wary about what he's saying. Maybe, just maybe, even Murdoch realizes what most other political realists do - that McCain has an increasingly steep hill to climb to win the White House.

However, this is exactly the type of development and pronouncement that Democrats have to guard against. It isn't going to be an easy election for (presumptively) Obama to win, and Republicans and the right-wing neocons aren't going to simply roll over and die. But, they may play possum, and that's what I think Murdoch is doing here.

Photo from AP