Labeled as mudslingers and muckrakers, the media gets a bad name in an election year where everyone’s trying to emerge without any dirt on their hands. When it comes to democratic front-runners Obama and Clinton, is the media really out to get anybody?

On February 23, a Saturday Night Live skit staged a debate between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. While the press reacted to Obama’s words with orgasmic displays of approval, they remained hard on Hillary, echoing complaints we’ve heard from Clinton’s camp over the past few months. Although the politically savvy were already aware of these sentiments, the SNL satire brought the issue to the nation’s attention.

Call this accusation a Clintonian political strategy, call it blatant exaggeration, call it the truth. Whatever we choose to call it, the question still remains. Has the media been favoring Obama over Clinton? Probably. Can we blame them? Not really. There’s no secret to the fact that media thrives off of the sensational. Obama’s charisma, charm and recent swell of campaign success provide a story that sells. After all, at the end of the day, this is a business like any other. If the editors of a periodical predict an issue with Obama’s face on the cover will gain more attention, you’ll have to delve through the inner pages to find a feature on Clinton. Knowing this, were we actually expecting the media to be objective?

We can’t deny that we are inundated by messages from the media every day. Whether we’re listening to the radio as we sit in traffic, watching the news over morning coffee, or reading magazine headlines in the check out line at the grocery store, it’s an inescapable part of our lives. Considering this, a media slant is a powerful tool that could pave a path to the Oval Office. NBC reporter Brian Williams admitted to his Obama favoritism in January. Yet at the same time, The New York Times has been accused of blatantly backing the New York Senator, Clinton. Although both democratic candidates deserve equal treatment from all facets of the media, we simply can’t expect that to happen.

2008 has proven to be the most exciting election year we’ve seen in a long time. The two democratic front-runners are both dynamic, yet very different characters. Inevitably, people and the media are going to gravitate to one over the other. It’s human nature. Have we suddenly become afraid of opinions when we are lucky enough to live in a country that allows us to express them freely?

Regardless of media bias, it’s the responsibility of American voters to educate themselves and form their own opinions about politics, policies and potential presidents. Not only do we owe it to our country to sift through what we read, see and hear, we owe it to ourselves. After all the debates and media coverage are over, all we have is the power of a single vote. So as we select the future leader of our country, let’s arm ourselves with information so we don’t become victims of voter’s remorse.