No real nut graf that I could find, but this comes close:
Are the media capable of merchandizing the moment, packaging a president-elect for profit? Yes, they can.
What's troubling here goes beyond the clanging of cash registers. Media outlets have always tried to make a few bucks off the next big thing. The endless campaign is over, and there's nothing wrong with the country pulling together, however briefly, behind its new leader. But we seem to have crossed a cultural line into myth-making.
"The Obamas' New Life!" blares People's cover, with a shot of the family. "New home, new friends, new puppy!" Us Weekly goes with a Barack quote: "I Think I'm a Pretty Cool Dad." The Chicago Tribune trumpets that Michelle "is poised to be the new Oprah and the next Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis -- combined!" for the fashion world.
This is an important story. Not so much for what Kurtz says. This kind of stuff goes on after every election, as he acknowledges, but it's a good summary review of what a lot of people are saying.
And Kurtz quotes a nice mixture of solemn public policy analysis and ga-ga celebrity worship, both past and present.
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