As Barack Obama's global travels - and good fortune - dominate the headlines in the U.S., the McCain campaign has launched two new ads in a petulant campaign against the media itself. The spots, which prominently feature MSNBC's Chris Matthews (among others), blast a fawning media's seeming love affair with Barack Obama. Whether or not contempt works as a campaign strategy for McCain, it could be a case of biting the hand that feeds him. After all, as Chris Matthews himself said, "The press loves McCain. We're his base."
But you'd never know from the ads ("Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" and "My Eyes Adored You"). Mocking reporters and pundits including Matthews and NBC's Chris Cowan, CNN's Lou Dobbs and Fox News' Steve Doocy complain that the press corps is "in the tank" for Obama. Matthews, who sang Obama's praises on the Jay Leno show just last night, is ridiculed in the McCain ads for his February 12th primary night reaction to Obama's speech:

"I have to tell you, you know, it's part of reporting this case, this election, the feeling most people get when they hear Barack Obama's speech. My, I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don't have that too often."

As it turns out, Barack Obama may send a thrill up Chris Matthews' leg, but John McCain already won his heart.

As Media Matters documented back in January, Chris Matthews adulation for John McCain knows no bounds. On January 28th, Matthews book-ended his interview with McCain about President Bush's last State of the Union address with declarations of his affection:

"Senator McCain, you know you're in my heart!" At the end of the interview, Matthews said: "Well, you show a lot of courage out there, Senator."

Matthews big boy crush on McCain hardly ends there. Again, Media Matters catalogued the lovefest:

• On two occasions, Matthews asserted that McCain "deserves to be president"; he had previously stated that McCain "deserve[s] the presidency."
• On the July 10, 2007, edition of Hardball, Matthews described having to report on problems in McCain's campaign as the "worst part of my job."
• On the February 13, 2007, edition of Hardball, Matthews touted McCain's "maverick reputation," as well as "the cut of [his] jib."
• On the December 13, 2006, edition of Hardball, Matthews described McCain as "a firm man," despite many instances of McCain's shifting positions and inconsistent rhetoric.
• On the November 19, 2006, edition of the NBC-syndicated Chris Matthews Show, Matthews described McCain as "kind of like a Martin Luther...reforming and finding the pure conservative movement" and even praised McCain's office as "really a senator's office out of the movies."
• On the September 10, 2006, edition of The Chris Matthews Show, Matthews asserted: "The press loves McCain. We're his base."
• On the August 27, 2006, edition of The Chris Matthews Show, Matthews asked his panel of guests: "Why does the media like McCain? I mean, what's going on here? Does he seem to be more authentic than other politicians?"
• During a panel discussion on the May 10, 2006, edition of Hardball, Matthews said he is "still hanging in there for a McCain-Giuliani ticket" for the 2008 election.

No doubt, Chris Matthews is far from alone. ThinkProgress detailed the press corp's continued embrace of McCain's "trademark wit" and "good sense of humor" even in the face of Mr. Straight Talk's bungled jokes and off-color barbs. And to be sure, no flip-flop from the $100 million man could alter the media's perception of McCain as an authentic man of the people:

McCain barbeques: "He was wearing a sweatshirt with a lithograph photo of his family - like a Christmas card picture. So just another grandpa at the grill." [Mike Allen, Politico]
McCain rides first-class on Acela trains: "John McCain traveled like a man of the people Friday morning, riding an Amtrak train to Philadelphia after a late night of voting in Washington." [Libby Quaid, Associated Press]
McCain jokes about killing Iranian civilians: "The guy seems like any guy you'd want to have around the dinner table or the bar stool." [Chuck Todd, NBC]
McCain jokes about blowing up Jon Stewart with an IED: "Despite the fact he steps over the line sometimes. It makes him seem much more accessible to voter. You know, everybody likes a guy with a good sense of humor." [Carol Costello, CNN]
McCain backtracks from his statements on Iraq: BLITZER: There was some straight talk, very straight talk, from John McCain today. Then, he seemed to backtrack a little bit. What happened?
BASH: He realized his straight talk was too straight, Wolf. [Wolf Blitzer and Dana Bash, CNN]

Then there are the serious men of the Washington Post. Despite McCain's extensive, well-documented record of reversals on just about every issue foreign and domestic, the likes of David Broder and Richard Cohen maintain an unshakable belief in the unswerving, principled John McCain. "McCain benefits from a long-established reputation as a man who says what he believes," Broder said in June, adding, "His shifts in position that have occurred in this campaign seem not to have damaged that aura." As for Cohen:

"McCain is a known commodity. It's not just that he's been around a long time and staked out positions antithetical to those of his Republican base. It's also -- and more important -- that we know his bottom line. As his North Vietnamese captors found out, there is only so far he will go, and then his pride or his sense of honor takes over. This -- not just his candor and nonstop verbosity on the Straight Talk Express -- is what commends him to so many journalists."

Yet it's not enough for the McCain campaign. Desperate to deflate the media wave over the Obama trip, McCain's spokesman Mark Salter dripped with scorn that "'The One' went to Europe and homage must be paid."
Apparently, that homage was so supposed to be reserved for John McCain.
UPDATE: Apparently, the McCain is succeeding in alienating even some of its die-hard supporters in the press. Plame-leaker Robert Novak is fuming that the McCain campaign duped him with a "feint" over a possible VP choice happening this week.