Obama Draws Media by Moving to Center

President Barack Obama has improved his approval ratings since November’s elections by moving to the center on several major issues, such as taxes. That change also has endeared him to the mainstream media, Politico reports.

The news service sees him “playing the press like a fiddle … by exploiting some of the most longstanding traits among reporters who cover politics and government—their favoritism for politicians perceived as ideologically centrist and willing to profess devotion to Washington’s oft-honored, rarely practiced civic religion of bipartisanship.”

Several big-time mainstream journalists now offer Obama effusive praise. Mark Halperin of Time magazine calls him “magnetic,” “distinguished” and “inspiring,” Christiane Amanpour of ABC cites his “Reaganesque” optimism and “Kennedyesque” encouragement.