Why won't the media ask the tough questions?

This years election is one of the most important in the history of our country, yet the media and others responsible for getting information out of the candidates, refuses to do their job; why? The "journalists" charged with interviewing Barack Obama constantly lob softballs to the presumptive Democratic candidate and it is doing our country a disservice. How can the American public make an informed decision if Obama is not asked the tough questions? The answer is that we can't make an informed decision and that is the goal of the liberal media. For if we were able to make an "informed" decision, Barack Obama would lose by a healthy margin. I wish just once that someone sitting down for an interview with Barack Obama would ask him "If we pull out of Iraq before the country is secure, as you have suggested, and Iraq becomes similar to Somalia, where there is no effective government and terrorists and warlords rule the country, what would you do?" or "If we pull out of Iraq before the country is secure, as you have suggested, and Iran fills the power vacuum, what would you do?". Of course these questions will never, ever be asked because Obama is the media darling and keeping the public in the dark about the possible disasterous implications of his foreign policy decisions is in the best interest of the Democratic party. Here's another one, "Senator Obama, you have repeatedly stated that you are against offshore drilling and want to move away from our dependence on oil. You are also against nuclear energy, coal, and natural gas. Does your energy policy consist solely of solar and wind power?"
The elite, liberal media is hurting the American people. Rather than simply informing the public, they are trying to influence public opinion. This can have very dangerous consequences. The media has already convinced the public that we are dead smack in the middle of a recession. Although oil prices are at record highs, which in turn affects the price of many goods, we are no where near a "recession". Our GDP and our economy have actually grown over the last 2 quarters as opposed to a recession in which the economy shrinks over 2 or more consecutive quarters. The high oil prices combined with horrible judgement of banks in mortgage lending has led us to where we are today; an economy that is not expanding as fast as we would like it to but hardly a recession or, as the media would have you believe, the end of America's reign as the world's sole superpower.
The media in the US has enormous influence over public opinion. With this influence comes the responsibility to have some integrity and honesty in performing your job. I don't know when exactly the media switched from fact giving to preaching but it has been going on for quite a while now and I believe that the American public is growing tired of it. Until the media shows some respect for the position that they hold and the responsibility that comes with their position, I am afraid we will end up electing people like Barack Obama.