AFTRA--American Federation of Television and Radio Artists/News Division Mental Health Clinic--therapist's notes.(the long view)(Barack Obama)

First Session:

Therapist begins by welcoming the group and congratulating the patients on their courage and commitment to becoming healthier and more emotionally balanced reporters and pundits. Except for Patient Keith O., who attends the session via satellite, the entire on-air contingent of pundits and reporters from MSNBC and CNN are seated in a circle. As many of the faces are well-known, Therapist forgoes the usual introductory preliminaries. "You're all here because you recognize that there's a problem in your lives, and you've made an important step toward mental health," says Therapist.

The session kicks off with a simple "okay/not okay" exercise, in which each member of the group in turn names something that's "okay" to think and/or feel about Barack Obama, and something that's "not okay" to think, feel, or more importantly act out in regard to the senator.

Therapist offers an example. It's "okay" to like the senator and wish him well; it's "not okay" to cut out pictures of him and his wife from magazines and staple your face over Michelle's.

The group looks baffled by this. Patient Keith O. is especially vexed. Therapist tries to draw him out by asking for an "okay/not okay" contribution from him. He thinks for a moment, then suggests that it's "okay to be an enthusiastic supporter of Senator Obama, but it's not okay to love him so much you actually want to eat him, to physically ingest his being into yours, until you and he become one entity."

It's clear that the Obama Obsessives group is going to be a challenge.

Second Session: