When Journalism Turns Personal

"One reason the attacks on him didn't stick, despite some radical elements in his background," Hume says, "is that it just didn't fit with a man who is extremely charming and appealing, who resounded with reasonableness and a certain eloquent mildness."

Asked about the drumbeat of Fox criticism, Hume says that he does not speak for the network but that "we were not wrong to go there," given Obama's meager public record. He contrasts that with what he calls soft treatment by the mainstream media.

"The appeal of the man, the wariness of Republicans in power in Washington, a general sympathy with elements of his agenda, a sense of history -- all of that combined to create an atmosphere in which a lot of journalists didn't look at him in the same way they would look at any other candidate."

Although studies have shown that McCain drew far more negative coverage than Obama as his campaign faltered, most journalists maintain that they were fair to both sides. "There's nobody in American politics that I know better, or admire more, than John McCain," Schieffer says.

Newspapers gave Obama his due, with huge headlines and generally laudatory editorials, but the front pages quickly focused on the challenges facing the president-elect.

The New York Times said Obama, with "no real executive experience," now faces "the responsibility of prosecuting two wars, protecting the nation from terrorist threat and stitching back together a shredded economy." The Post said no new president had faced such difficulties "since Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated at the depths of the Great Depression." The Los Angeles Times questioned whether Obama will govern as "too much of the ambitious liberal" or "too much the cautious mediator" who "risks losing the energy and idealism that attracted millions to his candidacy."

Demand for Wednesday morning's papers was unusually high in several cities. The Post, for instance, sold out and decided to print 250,000 commemorative editions for afternoon distribution.

We'll discuss the political arguments about the election in a moment, but these are some juicy excerpts from the campaign trail, part of Newsweek's quadrennial behind-the-scenes book project:

"While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family -- clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.

"According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent 'tens of thousands' more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as 'Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast.' "

And: "At the GOP convention in St. Paul, Palin was completely unfazed by the boys' club fraternity she had just joined. One night, Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter went to her hotel room to brief her. After a minute, Palin sailed into the room wearing nothing but a towel, with another on her wet hair. She told them to chat with her laconic husband, Todd."

No wonder they loved her.