I first noticed this with Joe the Plumber. Ordinary citizen finds himself with a moment in the spotlight and uses it to criticize the president. The media immediately springs into action - not in support of the citizen's right to dissent, but as a mass prosecution team demanding to know who this ingrate is, and what right he thinks he has to cast aspersions on the high exalted leader. He heard in the days that followed the Obama/Joe interaction that Joe was not a real plumber, didn't have a license (no government papers? egad!) and maybe had experienced problems with his business.
The clear lesson: If you dare criticize a Democrat, you'd better be prepared for a media rectal exam, because this is just . . . not . . . done.