THE CHARM FACTOR

The notion of a liberal-leaning media is largely a myth. Surveys have shown reporters tend to be socially liberal and fiscally conservative, while their editors and publishers tend to be right of center on most issues. Further, reporters are trained to not let their beliefs creep into their coverage.

But if there is a deep, dark secret about journalists, it is this: they are easily charmed.

The “Obamania” phenomenon, which has Democratic voters and, some say, reporters swooning, suggests that Sen. Barack Obama has been able to glide by what should have been a media gauntlet. His past, from his days as a community organizer in Chicago to serving in the Illinois Legislature, has not been the stuff of deep investigative pieces. There has not been the sort of “hypocrisy watch” other candidates have faced, where past positions have been juxtaposed against current. It may be that Sen. Obama has a skimpy record to scrutinize, or it may be that his charisma and declarations of ending the partisan era appeal to the better angels of reporters’ nature.

The charm or likeability factor has become a common tape measure by which pundits assess a candidate’s chances of winning. In 2000, the refrain was that voters perceived George W. Bush as the sort of guy they’d rather have a beer with than Al Gore. (Of course, the hypothetical voter would be drinking alone, because President Bush swore off alcohol years before.)

Sen. John McCain, particularly in the 2000 race, was a press favorite. Funny, self-deprecating, blunt and a little bit cantankerous, Sen. McCain was a breath of fresh air in a stuffy room full of carefully vetted, noncommittal positions. And the king of charm, of course, was Ronald Reagan, whose folksy humor and genuine fondness for people probably neutered many a hard-hitting examination of his policies (as did his enormous popularity).

The charm factor cuts both ways, though. Jimmy Carter, embraced today as a beloved, principled grandfather figure, was downright steely with reporters as president.

Sen. Hillary Clinton might also fall into the steely category. Her campaign recently put the press corps covering one of her events in a men’s bathroom, where reporters sat with their laptops, just feet from a bank of urinals.

In Maine, former Gov. Angus King was a press favorite. Bright, inquisitive, interested in people’s stories, brimming with energy and endowed with the gift of gab, Gov. King might have made a credible independent presidential candidate. Of course, it helped that his tenure in office coincided with a long run of economic prosperity. Even if Gov. Baldacci – a good and decent family man, by all accounts – could channel Cary Grant charm and take on George Clooney looks, his role as a bearer of bad news would keep him low on the “have a beer with” list.

Charm gets you only so far.