Rupert Murdoch heaps praise on Barack Obama

I simply loathe the way the Rupert Murdoch and other barons use the power they have to further their own selfish interests at the expense of everyone else, and was very surprised to hear that Murdoch has been heaping praise on Barack Obama, despite the fact that he is such a good friend of John McCain.

Speaking at the Wall Street Journal D6 conference in Carlsbad, California, Murdoch was asked by veteran tech correspondent Walt Mossberg if he had played a part in the New York Post's endorsement of Obama.

"Yeah," he replied, candidly. The select audience of entrepreneurs and digital business executives at the conference earlier this week cheered, as can be seen in the accompanying video.

"We're on the verge of a complete phenomenon," Murdoch said. "Politicians are at an all-time low and are despised by 80% of the public, and then you've got a candidate trying to put himself out above it all. He's become a rock star. It's fantastic.

"There are a lot of problems. The education system in this country is a total disgrace."

Murdoch heaped praise on Obama, saying he was a "highly intelligent man with a great record at Harvard", but stopped short of a full personal endorsement because he wanted "to meet him personally".

"The Obama phenomenon and undoubtedly the recession and everyone getting hurt... the average American family today is really financially hurting and that all bodes well for him," he said.

"He may not carry Florida because the Jewish people are suspicious of him, and so are Hispanics. But he'll probably add Ohio and others. He will probably win."

And why does this self confessed friend of McCain think that Obama will win?

Despite saying he was a friend of John McCain, Murdoch said the Republican presidential nominee had "a lot of problems".

"McCain has been in congress a long time and you've got to make too many compromise," he said.

"What does he really stand for? He's a patriot - he's a friend of mine and a really decent guy - but he's unpredictable.

"[He] doesn't know much about the economy and - I say this sympathetically - I think he has a lot of problems."

I have watched how Murdoch operates here in the UK and have always argued against the notion that The Sun won John Major his last successful election or that The Sun were responsible for the election of New Labour. The truth is much more simple, Murdoch is a businessman who would prefer to see a Tory in power but is smart enough to know when they are going to lose and lines his popular papers up with the probable winner so that he can pretend that his newspapers swayed the public.

That's why I think it is so significant that Murdoch is singing Obama's praises from the rooftop and telling us that John McCain "has a lot of problems".

I've always thought that Obama is going to trounce McCain come November and, from these comments from Murdoch, it appears that he thinks so to.

As I say, I loathe the power that the Murdoch's throw around for their own selfish interests, but he knows what side his bread is buttered on and is wise enough to usually pick and stick with the winner, and in this case he is telling us that he thinks Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States.

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Tags: Rupert Murdoch, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, US election 2008