The hype and near-deification of Illinois Senator Barack Obama is so over-the-top it has surpassed the mere ridiculous.

The latest illustration comes courtesy of the New York Times, a newspaper that apparently will print anything as 'news reporting' in order to advance its rather obvious political agenda.

Of course anyone who disagrees with that agenda must be evil enough to contemplate the assassination of a political candidate so perfect, so pure, that it endangers his life -- because apparently that might be the only way to defeat him.

It's enough to make one barf.

The Times' Jeff Zeleney writes:

There is a hushed worry on the minds of many supporters of Senator Barack Obama, echoing in conversations from state to state, rally to rally: Will he be safe?

In Colorado, two sisters say they pray daily for his safety. In New Mexico, a daughter says she persuaded her mother to still vote for Mr. Obama, even though the mother feared that winning would put him in danger. And at a rally here, a woman expressed worries that a message of hope and change, in addition to his race, made him more vulnerable to violence.
...

Not long ago, his advisers worried that some black voters might not support his candidacy out of a fierce desire to protect him.

What an embarrassing tub of goo this New York Times piece is.