Gerneral Statement

Throughout Inauguration weekend, I noticed that in each elite media source I examined (New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, PBS, etc) there was at least one article, if not more, on the topic of Martin Luther King, Jr. and likening his message to the swearing in of President Obama. Although, MLK's day of remembrance was the day immediately preceding Inauguration day, there was an undeniable connection that media outlets were trying to make between the two significant African-American icons. It is because of this attempted assimilation that leads me to propose my general statement to be that the elite media outlets, in assimilating President Obama to Martin Luther King, Jr. are in effect depoliticizing the presidential inauguration. I say this with caution, however because in many ways a lot of what Martin Luther King, Jr. did and stood for, was political. However, I feel that he is more of a historic figure rather than a political one and aligning President Obama with MLK draws a parallel that is deeply un-political and emphasizes the historical aspect of the Inauguration instead.