Michele Malkin (found via Roger L. Simon), looks at an amusing--if sadly predictable phenomenon, which Roger dubs (accurately), the mainstream media's "weirdly pro-Saddam coverage, a kind of journalistic Stockholm Syndrome". (Michelle links to blogger Matt Margolis, whose phrase appears in this post's title.)

There was a preview of it this weekend, as the MSM tut-tutted Iraq's democratic elections. Remember, it was only a few years ago, that they gave Saddam's "elections" a pass, without a shred of irony or dissent in their reporting, as these classic groaners in 2002 and 2003 illustrate:

“Seven years ago, when the last referendum took place, Saddam Hussein won 99.96 percent of the vote. Of course, it is impossible to say whether that’s a true measure of the Iraqi people’s feelings.” — ABC reporter David Wright, World News Tonight, October 15, 2002.

“All 11,440,638 eligible voters went to the polls with one thought: Yes to Saddam Hussein! The government proclaimed it a victory of light over darkness, good over evil. It seemed more like a political miracle.“ — NBC reporter Keith Miller on Today, October 16, 2002.

Diane Sawyer: “I read this morning that he’s [Saddam Hussein] also said the love that the Iraqis have for him is so much greater than anything Americans feel for their President because he’s been loved for 35 years, he says, the whole 35 years.”

Dan Harris in Baghdad [responds to Sawyer]: “He is one to point out quite frequently that he is part of a historical trend in this country of restoring Iraq to its greatness, its historical greatness. He points out frequently that he was elected with a 100 percent margin recently.” — ABC’s Good Morning America, March 7, 2003.