Murdoch comes out for ‘rock star’ Obama

When The First Post reported Elisabeth Murdoch’s starry London fund-raiser for Barack Obama in early April, New York gossips wondered whether her choice of Obama over Hillary Clinton would herald a similar decision from her father, Rupert Murdoch. Now, it seems, they have their answer: stopping short of offering an actual endorsement, Murdoch appears to be throwing in his lot with the Illinois senator. He told a digital conference in California yesterday: "He is a rock star. I love what he is saying about education. I think he will win and I am anxious to meet him."

Earlier this year, Murdoch's New York Post came out for Obama over Clinton on the eve of the New York primary, even though he had previously appeared to have courted both the former first lady and her husband, Bill Clinton. He has now admitted that he was involved in the newspaper's support for Obama. He also predicted that the deteriorating economy will aid Obama. "The average American is really getting hurt financially and that all bodes well for him. It looks like he will overcome that totally."

What will surprise many Washington observers are the News Corp boss's comments about the Republican nominee, John McCain. While Murdoch describes him as a friend, he was unexpectedly harsh in his assessment: "He's been in Congress a long time, and you have to make a lot of compromises. I think he has a lot of problems." Worse for McCain, Murdoch questioned his fiscal competence – "he doesn't know much about the economy", and the way he has run his election team – "he doesn't know much about organising a campaign, it would seem". With friends like that.. ·