Republicans often complain about Obamamania in the U.S. media. They should try looking at the BBC’s output.

The BBC news website – one the world’s most popular sites – has become a flagrant Obama cheerleader. Justin Webb, BBC north America editor, appears to have fallen in love. His blog makes Andrew Sullivan’s Daily Dish seem almost neutral toward the Senator from Illinois.

Look at this swivel-eyed post, glowingly comparing Obama with former British PM Sir Henry Campbell Bannerman (Points to Webb for historical recall, but still).

It is hard to find a post from Webb that isn’t laced with Obama favoritism. In some ways, such an obvious bias is better than false neutrality–a BBC specialty. Yet surely journalists – even on a blog – should preserve some sense of balance, especially at the BBC, which is funded by UK taxpayers.

And the Beeb’s reach is truly global. The website–I don’t know about Webb’s blog– is instantly translated into many languages, and is regarded as a reliable news resource across the world.

Robin Aitken, a former long-serving Beeb employee, asked, in an excellent recent book, Can we Trust the BBC?

The even-handed answer is probably not.