For weeks (even months) conservative-partisans and other Obama haters have been trying to build up at least two themes against the Senator. The first is this notion that the media is somehow giving him a pass and the second is this bizarre plug-n-play infopimping about Obama’s strong patriotism (they pulled this same plug-n-play move against Kerry and Gore… go figure.)

While certainly both Obama and McCain have enjoyed some deferential treatment from the media, they are also both hit hard on a regular basis.

The current conservative retort to McCain being a “media darling” is to point to the recent stories in the NY Times, Washington Post and elsewhere regarding his coziness with a lobbyist and the favors he tried to pull for her clients. But even griping that the media is somehow turning on McCain isn’t accurate since the Times held off on that story for months — and the actual first-run article was simply a recitation of facts (McCain’s staff did distance him from the lobbyist out of concern about “appearances”, etc.).

But for some reason, cons keep whining that Obama too is getting a “free pass” from the media, a claim that simply isn’t true.

For years, the Trib and Sun-Times have been pouring over Obama’s legislative records, his donor forms, and even the real estate records on his home purchase in the hopes of finding something dire regarding Rod Blagojevich’s friend, Tony Rezko. But there’s no there there (and I’ll be the first to eat crow if something is ever found).

More recently, the tee-vee newsies have been jumping onto the slightest things — and echoing con talking points in doing so — in what conservatives would likely claim would be a concerted effort to tarnish Obama had he been a Republican.

Last week, CNN and MSNBC both gratuitously infopimped the cons’ meme questioning Obama’s staunch patriotism. Even the Associated Press got in on serving up the pig slop with a story doing little more than promote the conservative partisans’ baseless attacks.

And, of course, Tim “Meet the Press” Russert just decided to jump on the Six Degrees of Kevin Farrakhan trolley with a weak game of “gotcha” vis a vis a line of questioning that could best be described as pointless drivel and guilt by association malarkey.

So, conservative partisans, just how is it that playing up these sorts of non-issue, partisan-based stories is a “free pass”?

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