Murdoch's New York Post has an Obama coronation cover today. "BRINK OF
HISTORY" the headline reads. This is unusual because the Post endorsed
McCain just after the Republican convention, an oddly early point in
the campaign cycle for an endorsement.
Most often, when a Murdoch
publication makes an endorsement it is little bothered by reality. A
more traditional Post headline would be something like: "HERO'S LAST
STAND" (if it chose to acknowledge the polls) or "MCCAIN CHARGES UP THE
HILL."
What happened is that Murdoch and the Post made a mistake. For
Murdoch it's a galling mistake because he had wanted to endorse
Obama.
(AP Image)
In conversations with Murdoch over the past year, I've been
privy to his mounting enthusiasm for Obama—indeed, Murdoch has
reflected the enthusiasm of his entire family. And yet he punted.
This
might be my fault: In a column I wrote for Vanity Fair in September, I
said that Murdoch had a crush on Obama. The Post's McCain endorsement, which came a week later,
might have been a way to say nobody tells Murdoch what he's going to
do.
The other likely reason might have had to do with Murdoch having a
Palin moment. Sarah Palin, especially in the days after the acceptance
speech, seemed like a perfect Fox News ideal and Murdoch, with
knee-jerk conservatism, went for it.
But he was left kicking himself.
Indeed, he is left with a news media operation whose conservatism
makes him look like the one thing he cannot abide looking. . . old.
The historic change that the Post announces today is as much about
Murdoch trying to catch up with historic change as it is about an Obama
victory.
