MSM will get back in line once the Clintons are the Nominee Apparent. Any tidbit that was on an FBI file before 2000 will be dragged up and displayed 24/7 in MSM re: the Republican nominee, whoever it is and nothing that might be embarrassing to the Clintons will get more than a passing mention dismissing it as Old News.
The MSM does not have the influence of pull that it used to have. Are they biased? Of course... I have no doubt they will back the Dem.. however, the days of them doing 80% pro dem and 20% pro R are over like 1992 are over. 96 was a little better maybe 70% to 30% and 2000 a bit better and 2004 a bit better still.
They cannot demagog national political elections as they have in the past. The landscape has changed too much, their influence has wained to far for them to get away with the same things they could in the 90s. They don’t control the flow of information anymore.
A candidate does something and its posted on YouTube, linked to a spun by bloggers and in the public discussion long before they have even gotten to taping their nightly news. Spin of the event by both sides is already in high gear before the MSM’s news cycle even knows what’s going on.. and by the time it makes tommorrows nightly news, another event has already replaced it.
2008 is not 1996, and comparisons to it are foolish. Dole was the party candidate from day one... McCain certainly has not been. Clinton was an incumbent. Dole chose a poor running mate and ran a weak campaign in a climate where the press still controlled the national conversation. None of these facts are true in 2008 and comparisons I think are just nonsense so talk radio pinheads have fodder to talk about and fear tactics to engage in.
Regardless of who the R nominee is, they will have my vote, because in spite of all the venom and hatred being spit out by some here, the simple fact remains, that any Republican in this race is far superior to any Democrat.