I've felt for sometime that Bush got off easy in terms of criticism of his record mainly because after the years of Clinton "scandals," the public had tired of those sort of news stories.
The media has been cautious about taking on Bush because they think the public will revolt. Now, I wonder if it is possible that the drubbing Dean took in the media may work to Kerry's advantage as the media will be cautious about taking him on having just abused Dean. I know around dkos the media is viewed badly. I agree with that sentiment. However, I have noticed a switch in the Dean coverage of late. The media is admitting they overplayed his negatives at least as it relates to the speech. I thought last night's TV coverage (MSNBC and CNN) of Dean was generally decent. The media knows that it has been roundly criticized for going after Dean. Will Kerry benefit now because the media won't want to be viewed as taking down another candidate?
I know and accept that the media is not to fault completely for Dean's current position. However, how the media reports on Kerry in the near future is crucial to the future of the Dem race and the race in November. Is it possible Kerry might get less scrutiny than we think?