The next U.S. president will lead a nation that remains embroiled in two wars and is beset by an economic meltdown more severe than any since the Great Depression.
By necessity, the country's next commander in chief must also be its mender in chief, capable of inspiring his angry and divided constituents to join together in a recovery project to restore the peace, prosperity, and self-confidence we once knew.
We fear that a lesser effort may be insufficient to reverse America's slide toward economic, political and societal chaos. The times require dramatic and comprehensive change.
The presidential candidates know it, and have made it their mantra.
Most Americans know it, and, in growing numbers, are demanding it.
The countries that have long depended upon the United States for enlightened global leadership long for it.
For the sake of all, and for those who follow us, we must have it.
The editorial board of The Salt Lake Tribune believes that Barack Obama can deliver it.
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Not surprisingly, the Chicago Sun-Times, which went for Kerry last time, has endorsed Obama. The editors believe this country is ready to be one country again:
Americans are ready to be one country. By the millions, they yearn to bridge their differences, to find common cause, to rise above ideology, race, class and religion.
They have grown weary of the culture wars and the personal attacks, tired of the exaggerated lines that divide. They dare to imagine a more constructive discourse, a debate marked by civility and respect even in disagreement, a politics that begins with listening to each other.
Nothing else so fully explains the meteoric rise of Sen. Barack Obama. If America had preferred a master of policy for its next president, Sen. Hillary Clinton would have won the Democratic nomination. If America valued experience in public life above all else, Sen. John McCain would be trouncing Sen. Obama in the polls.
But it is Sen. Obama who won his party's nomination, and it is he who leads in the polls. Americans across the land want to pull together, and in Sen. Obama they see a man of exceptional gifts who just might show them how.
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Ditto for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Naturally, both Obama and his opponent, U.S. Sen. John McCain, have promised to take the country in a new direction. Both are honorable men fully qualified and competent to be president.
McCain, however, faces a hurdle in his claim to be an agent of change because he shares a political party with Bush. To offset that fact, McCain has wisely chosen to campaign on his reputation as a maverick, a reputation that he once fully deserved.
However, in his current role as Republican nominee, McCain has yet to explain how most of his proposed policies and approaches differ from those of the current president. From deregulation of Wall Street and tax cuts that favor the richest 5 percent of Americans to a more aggressive foreign policy, McCain’s approach now reflects the same Republican orthodoxy that has governed this country since 2000. Time and again, he has been offered chances to explain how his philosophy differs from that of the current president, and he has not been able to do so.
And it’s not just a matter of policies. A third term under another Republican president would inevitably be populated by much the same cast of GOP staffers, executives and bureaucrats that has run Washington for so long and with such disastrous results. McCain’s campaign staff illustrates that problem perfectly because it is populated by many of the same people who ran previous Bush campaigns. They are also still trying to run the same basic Republican playbook that the party has used since 1980.
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The Associated Press found it newsworthy some unlikely newspapers have endorsed Obama.
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(H/T to E&P, which I checked this morning before going through the list.)
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John McCain receives a major newspaper endorsement, the Dallas Morning News:
In better times, America could afford to consider entrusting the White House to an appealing newcomer like Mr. Obama and giving control of the presidency and Congress to the same party.
But in this time of great anxiety, the American people need a leader of experience guiding the ship of state. Mr. McCain offers the continuity, stability and sense of authority people want, as well as a decisive break from the Bush years.
The Democrat talks about change, but only the Republican has made change happen. Only one candidate has a solid record of standing up to his own party on principle and working hand in hand with legislators from the opposing party to get things done.
That candidate is John McCain, a progressive conservative we recommend.
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The Obamabots just prove the Napa Register right in its endorsement of John McCain.
Shit, papers can endorse anybody they want.
Snips:
Demonstrators peppered Speth with questions about the editorial board’s decision-making process, accusing her of overriding a decision by the majority of editorial board members.
Speth referred the demonstrators to previous columns that have appeared in the Register about the editorial board process. Traditionally, six members serve on the editorial board, and members range from editors to columnists. Speth herself is a member of the editorial board. Five names appear on Sunday’s editorial.
In an interview, Speth said that the editorial board followed “the same process we do for every editorial board,” which is to hold a discussion and a poll on a number of issues. The final opinion in the editorial, she said, often does not reflect a consensus among board members.
“At the end of the day, the publisher’s role is to make a final decision if there is not a consensus,” Speth said.
“I made the final decision, and I stand behind the process, and I welcome the conversation to continue on the Editorial page and on our Web site,” Speth said, adding that reader feedback she had received on the endorsement was evenly mixed between criticism and support for the Register’s endorsement.
It's this kind of thuggery by the Obama supporters that forces me to not support ANYBODY for president this year. I hate doing that; I would have loved nothing more than to volunteer for a presidential campaign as I did in 2004. But I can't in good conscience do it.
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Even Editor & Publisher's Greg Mitchell can't keep up with the endorsements. I had just passed the Miami Herald and Tampa Tribune sites, and apparently I didn't see these editorials, both of which have been up for a bit.
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The Miami Herald endorses Barack Obama for president:
With 90 percent of Americans telling pollsters that the nation is heading in the wrong direction, it is no surprise that both Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain have staked their presidential candidacies on the promise of delivering change. Both have qualities that qualify them to lead the country, but they differ significantly in temperament and on many issues. Even the way they have run their campaigns is indicative of their judgment, decision-making and leadership styles.
When he began his campaign in February of 2007, Sen. Obama was viewed as an upstart. He built his candidacy one victory at a time, aided by an excellent campaign staff and fueled by an impressive ability to raise funds on the Internet. He displayed inspiring eloquence and a sure grasp of detail on issues. Voters of all races and ages were drawn to his promise to discard the culture wars and seek pragmatic solutions for problems instead of relying on ideology and worn-out slogans.
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If I remember correctly, the very Republican Tampa Tribune refused to endorse in 2004 (I know the paper refusing to endorse was one of the major Florida papers). It is endorsing John McCain this year:
The direction of the nation is at stake in this election.
Hard economic times, a disappointing Republican administration and the seductive promises of a master orator are pushing America toward a European-style social democracy.
If you don't want that to happen, vote for Republican Sen. John McCain.
First, it must be acknowledged that Democratic Sen. Barack Obama gets a lot of things right, especially when emphasizing what has gone wrong. Studiously unflappable, he is the most inspirational campaigner in memory.
McCain, too, has many ideas for improvement, but his changes build on what has worked in the past to make our nation the strongest in the world.
I am almost certain the Tampa Tribune didn't endorse last time.
Update: I was right. It and the Winston-Salem Journal refused to endorse last time. The links are long dead, of course, but I did note them on this blog.
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The Kansas City Star, which went for John Kerry last time, has endorsed Barack Obama for president:
These are anxious times for Americans. A faltering banking system, plummeting stock prices, difficult conflicts abroad, huge federal deficits, rapidly escalating health expenses . . . the list of troubles seems to go on and on, and public faith in our national leaders and key institutions has suffered.
But the six issues highlighted below illustrate why we believe Sen. Barack Obama is the right person to lead the country forward. He is a man of strength, empathy, energy and intelligence.
The Illinois Democrat understands the challenges that await George Bush’s successor. A gifted public servant whose roots extend to his mother’s birthplace in Kansas, Obama has a rare ability to encourage hope among the dispirited and to inspire young people.
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The Southwest News-Herald has backed Barack for president:
The presidential election will finally come to an end on Tuesday, Nov. 4 as voters will cast their ballots and make a decision on who is going to be commander-in-chief for the next four years.
The Southwest News-Herald is endorsing the Democratic junior senator from Illinois, Barack Obama, in the race against John McCain, the Republican senator from Arizona.
We have thrown our support behind Obama, 47, because he is the candidate who is best equipped to face the challenges that the 21st century has brought. While his eloquence and oratory skills are well documented even by his critics, he also has the ability to reach out to average Americans in an effort to help improve their lives.
The nation is going through difficult times with an enormous deficit that has been inflated by the Bush administration. Obama has discussed a health plan that would include uninsured Americans and a tax cut that would lessen the economic burden of the middle class and the poor.
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The Portland Oregonian endorses Obama for president:
In the century and a half that Oregon and The Oregonian have been making presidential choices, there has rarely been a time when the nation so desperately needed a sharp change in direction.
To provide that change, The Oregonian strongly urges voters to support Barack Obama.
Obama has the best chance, and the best abilities, to rebuild an American economy that has grown dangerously unstable, with government, consumers and the nation itself spiraling deeply into debt and selling off the national future to pay for daily expenses. He is the best choice to rebuild the American position in the world, to restore our ties with traditional allies, to re-make the American argument to the rest of the world.
APBarack Obama
Crucially, Barack Obama can recall the United States to its own highest principles and priorities. He can change course after an administration that has often cut constitutional and legal corners, and frequently stumbled into policy and philosophical embarassment.
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It's not up yet, but the Philadelphia Inquirer has endorsed Obama for president.
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