Is the U.S. media giving Presidential candidate Barack Obama a free ride? Some people, on both the left and right, say the media is not being tough enough on Obama.

CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS, USA - Barack Obama has received glowing press coverage. But now, some people on the left and right are slamming the media for giving the Democratic presidential candidate what they see as a free ride. On Tuesday (February 26) arch-rival Hillary Clinton let out her frustration at a debate in Cleveland. She said, "In the last several debates, I seem to get the fist question all the time? And I don't mind. You know I'll be happy to field them, but I do find it curious. And if anybody saw "Saturday Night Live," you know, maybe we should ask Barack if he's comfortable and needs another pillow."

On the same day, while at a rally for Republican presidential candidate, John McCain, conservative talk show host Bill Cunningham sharply accused the media of bias. He said, "At some point, the media will quit taking sides in this thing and maybe start covering Barack Hussein Obama the same way they cover Bush, the same way they cover Cheney and the same way they cover every republican."

And even some people in the media are turning sceptical. New York Times' columnist David Brooks attacked Obama as a "trophy messiah." Time magazine's Joe Klein says he feels something "creepy" about the "mass messianism." And online, this blog mockingly questions whether he is the chosen one.

Andrew Rasiej, co-founder of TechPresident.com, monitors campaigns on the Internet. He says, "There's always, you know, those who feel like they've discovered the insurgent, and it's their guy or person. And they don't particularly like it when it becomes a herd that's following."

Media analysts say the press gushes over Obama because of his winning record and his emergence from out of nowhere. Mark Jurkowitz is associate director of the group that tracks media campaign coverage, Project for Excellence in Journalism. He says, "A lot of the coverage he's getting is positive is a function of the successes we're seeing in his campaign: 11 straight primary wins, superdelegates moving over, fundraising. He's getting positive coverage based on the way his campaign is going. The media are now talking about the idea of gee, do we need to vet this guy at a level we haven't' thus far. Thus far, either the vetting hasn't taken place, or there just haven't been any new revelations."

And that vetting could begin this spring or summer after the primaries and before the Democratic convention. That's when the press will have some downtime and a chance to hunt for any skeletons in Obama's closet.

Recently, questions have been raised about Obama's ties to an indicted Chicago real estate developer who has supported Obama's political career.