Other than themselves, is there anyone or anything that the major media likes more than Barack Obama? There was a political cartoon making the rounds that made this point. It showed Obama as the Pied Piper of Hamelin being followed by a merry bunch of dancing rats named CNN, MSNBC, CBS and NBC.

The major media gave up all pretense of objectivity during this election cycle. I kept a record of all the headlines in USA Today during the last months of the campaign. This is a sample of the Obama headlines: "Obama ad says McCain ignores the middle class," "Poll: Youth back Obama" (large font), "Obama ready for prime time in long ads," "Powell endorses Obama" (very large font), "Anchorage newspaper endorses Obama," and "Obama ads swamp McCain's TV presence."

McCain's headlines looked like this: "McCain aide's ties to Freddie Mac examined," "Onus on McCain to turn presidential race his way," "McCain campaign hitting 'reset button'," "McCain's brother apologizes for 911 call," and my favorite, "Usually red state N.D. not 100% sold on McCain." Honestly, I did not make that up.

Then when we got to the candidate the elites loved to hate, the headlines got even more interesting: "Palin tax returns for 2006, 2007 released," "GOP spent $150K on clothes, accessories for Palin and family," "Investigation concludes Palin 'abused her power'," and then by magic on election morning, the headline read, "Report clears Palin in 'Troopergate' probe."

The newspaper and TV media were not alone; most of the media wanted Obama to win so badly they were figuratively wetting their pants.

So, what's it going to be like in an Obama presidency with a fawning, worshipful press?

After eight years of George Bush's treatment, how will we handle constant feel-good news about the president and his adoring wife and children? What will a "newscast" look like that praises every domestic and foreign policy move? Will we tire of long and pedantic discourses in The New York Times and on NPR about how apparent failures are really fantastic successes?

Will we be still pushing our fist into the air and saying "Hear … Hear" four years from now when every failure is still being blamed on George "The Devil" Bush?

Or, will we blink in disbelief when the press suddenly praises Bush and tells us what a smart and kind man he is when he agrees with Obama?

Will this create even a slight tinge of cognitive dissonance in the listener, or even an ounce of guilty reflection in the media?

Will the press now tell us that every bombing in Baghdad is a sign of the success of Obama's policies? Will the talking heads explain in patient and knowing terms why the government took three days to show up at the next natural disaster?

Will we now get scholarly discourses from Harvard law professors explaining why it is constitutional to torture prisoners when national security is at stake? And why Obama's need for torture is not the same as Bush's need for torture?

Of course we will.

The real question, however, is whether this pandering devotion will continue and how long it will last.

To a large extent, the media created Barack H. Obama. They did this by purposefully manipulating information. Many times what they reported was of little consequence compared to what they did not report.

The problem is this. The real person they put into power may not bring the reincarnation of Camelot that the press so desperately wanted. When they discover this, what will they do?

Will they continue to try to make excuses, blame others, hide and distort information, and continue to act much like they did during the election, or will they go into a contrast mode and in a fit of petulance try to destroy the image they so carefully created?

It will be interesting to watch, but I have a suspicion that Obama is not only NOT the politician they created, he is also not willing to be negatively treated by the press.

Unlike Bush, he might not be content to suffer the slings and arrows of a negatively biased media.

The media now clamoring for the Fairness Doctrine may find that it can magically be expanded to include not only Rush Limbaugh, but CBS and USA Today as well.