In my opinion, as a black conservative, the reason he gets the press he does, is that he is a reasonable sounding Black Liberal.(I know, most people would say "is there another kind?" (black liberal, that is)
I guess he's the first black senator ever, or at least in a long time. As I posted to Peach upthread, if he were a black conservative, I dare say he'd be treated way differently.
And because he is black, and a liberal, he automatically becomes part of the "protected class" that Ann Coulter talked about (i.e. you can't talk about him, or oppose him, lest you risk being branded as a racist), joining the Jersey Girls, Max Cleland, Cindy Sheehan, any leftist who uses their military service as a weapon to beat over the head of "those who never served" (wished they'd do that to REAL draft dodgers Bill Clinton and Howard Dean)...
Anyway, that's my two rambling cents.
Which typically includes President Bush, VP Cheney, and radio talkshow host Rush Limbaugh.
Do not forget Carol Mosely Braun, also from Illinois. But you hit the nail on the head. He is telegenic and speaks well, unlike Carol Mosely. Also, the first black Senator in the Senate since the end of Reconstruction was actually a Republican. From the 1960's. Can someone supply me a name? Man, that must of burned Sheets Byrd's arse back then!