IS THIS JOURNALISM? - AT 8:02 A.M. ET:  If you want to know why the mainstream press is losing its credibility, just browse through this piece of salesmanship posing as a news story:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- For the first time in years, more Americans than not say the country is headed in the right direction, a sign that Barack Obama has used the first 100 days of his presidency to lift the public's mood and inspire hopes for a brighter future.

Intensely worried about their personal finances and medical expenses, Americans nonetheless appear realistic about the time Obama might need to turn things around, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll. It shows most Americans consider their new president to be a strong, ethical and empathetic leader who is working to change Washington.

Nobody knows how long the honeymoon will last, but Obama has clearly transformed the yes-we-can spirit of his candidacy into a tool of governance. His ability to inspire confidence -- Obama's second book is titled ''The Audacity of Hope'' -- has thus far buffered the president against the harsh political realities of two wars, a global economic meltdown and countless domestic challenges.

COMMENT:  Get that third paragraph.  Can you hear the organ music?  Do you hear the left-wing equivalent of the theme from "Patton"? 

Yet, if you read the whole story, you'll see that the results of the poll were far more nuanced than the opening suggests.  And Rasmussen reports that Obama only has a presidential approval, as of yesterday, of 54 percent, not going through the roof.

The MSM is making this country sound like a budding theocracy.  He has come!  He has come!

April 23, 2009