As Editor & Publisher notes, and as I have posted on the blog, the Shaw newspapers all have the same editorial backing McCain.
There are two main endorsements today so far backing Obama.
Arizona Daily Star:
However, the ways of the past, which we believe McCain understands, will not work in this new America. The future requires new tools and new expertise. A premium must be placed on more than just love of country. We must re-embrace American ideals and lead the world on a stronger path to prosperity and peace.
The time is now and the leader is Barack Obama. The Star endorses Obama for president of the United States.
Like a race car driver going into a turn, a leader must see not only what confronts our nation today but envision where we come out on the other side. Obama sees how the United States is connected to other nations through our economic, immigration, national security and energy policies. No one can thrive alone.
Obama sees a foreign policy where force is but one tool. He envisions countries collaborating to confront bad actors and shared challenges such as global warming, poverty, terrorism, disease and religious extremism.
Obama sees a health-care system in which children can go to the doctor and families aren't forced into bankruptcy by medical bills. He experienced the same hardships many American families face. While his mother was dying of cancer, she battled her insurance company for care.
He embraces the strength of the free market, but sees that, in the United States today, the market doesn't meet people's health-care needs. He knows the heavy toll that inequitable public policies take on people's lives. We agree with Obama that health care should be as affordable and accessible to as many people as possible.
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Newsday:
Leading the nation through the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, two wars and excruciating anxiety about what the future holds will demand intellect, judgment, pragmatism and the more intangible ability to nourish the American spirit.
The need to make fundamental changes in how we power our cars, heat our homes, pay our doctors, earn our livings and secure our retirements is unnerving. The times demand a president who can see promise beyond the peril and articulate that vision for the rest of us. We believe this profile best fits one candidate in this race for the White House: Democrat Barack Obama.
In this marathon of a campaign, Obama has shown the discipline and demeanor for the job. He has articulated a more compelling vision and strategy for the nation than has Republican John McCain, at a time when both are desperately needed.
Obama has railed eloquently against the politics of fear and ideological combat, and promoted inclusiveness and cooperation. He has a strong grasp of the nation's economic problems, a more urgent commitment to the green energy revolution and a better plan for expanding access to health care. On issues such as Iraq, taxes and trade, he should practice the bipartisanship he promises, but has yet to demonstrate, by remaining open to alternative views. Still, on balance, Obama offers the better way forward.
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More Obama endorsements:
Royal Oak Daily Tribune:
It appears that Obama as president would have solid majorities in both houses of Congress, enough to launch his agenda, but one that will inevitably be tempered by new economic realities. But it’s our belief that he, better than McCain, can reach across the aisle in Congress and living rooms and pull all of us on board for the rocky trip ahead.
We recognize that this endorsement is the last thing regular readers of the Tribune would expect to see here as we have typically endorsed Republicans to be the leader of the free world in recent decades.
But difficult times sometimes lead to easy choices such as this one.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, making a surprise endorsement of Sen. Obama recently, called him “transformational,” a president who could “electrify” the world.
We agree.
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Traverse City Record-Eagle:
Obama is hardly everyone's choice, of course. The National Rifle Association has endorsed McCain and Palin and says Obama has a "radical record of opposition to our constitutional rights." McCain has been endorsed by four former Secretaries of State and 300 retired generals and admirals. Obama is pro-choice, McCain has been endorsed by Right to Life.
In the end, a president's judgment and character always count more than his foreign policy chops. While McCain has been known throughout his career for having a quick temper and a fighter pilot's inclination to act first, Obama has proven to be calm and thoughtful.
We need calm, we need thoughtful. We need someone to inspire the nation to great things and then unify us to achieve them.
BARACK OBAMA is that candidate.
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Winona Daily News:
It’s amazing that all politics really are local. And, in this case, the Daily News editorial board values collaboration and transparency. And Barack Obama has proven over the course of the last several months that he knows how to bring a broad coalition of people together to share a vision of a more united future.
For at least four years, we’ve endured a president whose plans about the war in Iraq have been veiled in doublespeak while the billions have rolled into Iraq — a country now economically sound enough to provide for itself. Meanwhile, back here in the United States, the economy has crumbled, thanks to an amazing lack of oversight and restraint, encouraged by an administration that warned the only thing to fear was federal oversight.
It’s time for a change in the White House. We continue to ask whether folks are better off today than four years ago. For many, the answer is no. And we’re not so sure that folks can afford another four years of the same policies.
And that’s just here at home.
Abroad, we’ve fallen from first in diplomacy to nearly worst. What we need now more than anything is a leader who understands that there’s more to diplomacy than talking tough — true diplomacy is talking with our enemies, building coalitions and admitting that domestically we face huge challenges, including energy, health care and education.
We believe that Obama is that rare leader who can bridge some of the deep divides in politics and also restore some honor to our tarnished worldwide reputation.
This is it.
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Daily Freeman:
OBAMA'S CRITICS, including McCain, have seized on the notion that the Democrat's tax policy is "redistributionist." To which we say, well, what of it? As long as governments need revenue to function, there never will be a neutral government policy when it comes to taxation or wealth. The last nearly 30 years have witnessed an unabashed bias in policy toward the most affluent. Changing that bias is important to the future of the middle class.
Taxing those who make more than $250,000 per year at a marginally higher rate, while giving everyone below $200,000 a tax cut, as Obama promises to do, isn't exactly Bolshevism. But, then, neither is bailing out tattered financial institutions with $1 trillion or more of tax money, which both candidates supported.
Obama's unified vision of a federal policy that would nurture the middle class, spread health care coverage, hold corporations accountable to the broader society, work toward energy independence with new technologies, and disengage the military from Iraq to refocus on the worldwide al-Qaida threat would create a new governing paradigm.
We need such a clear break with the broken status quo, especially in economic matters. The current financial crisis is no accident, no result of some random throw of the dice.
We have reaped what nearly 30 years of the Age of Reagan sowed. Zealous deregulation of the economy - both the financial world and the production of goods and services - has created not only an unstable free-for-all in the global economy, but institutionalized a bias toward the ever greater aggregation of income, wealth and influence in a steadily decreasing proportion of hands. What semblance of democracy can long endure such an imbalance of economic power?
The "redistribution" argument put forward by the GOP was always a crock of shit to hoodwink the masses. Tax policy is ALWAYS redistributive; it's just a matter of whether the wealth is transferred upward, benefiting only a tiny number of people, or downward, which benefits the vast majority. The past thirty years has seen government tax policy benefit the few to the detriment of the many. That's why our economy is in the shitter.
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Wausau Daily Herald:
Barack Obama is the man for that job.
We can understand that some people are hesitant to come to that conclusion, given their lack of exposure to the Illinois senator and his comparatively brief time in public life.
Obama burst onto the national political stage just four years ago, when he gave the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention and so stirred his party that members immediately began speculating about his political future.
Could he be the man, like another Illinois lawmaker who used oratorical skills to mend the nation, to restore our common sense of purpose?
Like Abraham Lincoln, Obama is a powerful and persuasive speaker -- an attribute his critics have turned against him by claiming he's all talk and no ideas.
But Obama does have ideas -- ideas that can heal and energize America. They were outlined in that 2004 speech, in which Obama rejected the politics of division and celebrated the values that all Americans share.
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For McCain:
Daily Courier recap of an earlier editorial:
John McCain has the experience and good judgment to deal with issues of national security; a commitment to ending congressional earmarks and plans for gaining energy independence, a sound economy and secure border.
This is the complete editorial link:
The fact he has pledged to veto all legislation containing earmarks and to shine the light of publicity on the congressmen and senators wasting public money to buy votes can be one of the best things that's happened to our country.
Secondly, he has the demonstrated resolve to keep our country safe. He understands that we are at war with an ingenious, intractably patient and infinitely evil enemy who will not relent in trying to wipe us off the planet. He will maintain our security and fight the enemy.
Third, he also understands the urgency of making America energy self-sufficient as soon as humanly possible. He is open to every domestic energy option, including nuclear, to get us to where we depend on no foreign power to heat our homes and fuel our cars.
Fourth, he has the demonstrated experience and ability to work with both parties to restore stability to our nation's economy.
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Southwest Times Record:
On more than one occasion during his campaign and in debates, McCain has made the politically brave statement that entitlements need to be reformed. That kind of talk isn’t the best way to get votes, but that’s McCain at his best — straight-talking the American public — and it’s the kind of talk America needs to hear if the country is ever going to fix its economic house.
McCain has made proposals regarding nonrenewable and renewable energy and provided encouragement to companies to keep jobs at home but in ways that open the door for private enterprise to find answers to our problems rather than depending on government for answers. He wants to create a safe, responsible supply of energy for this country that reduces our dependence on foreign oil, a much-discussed goal, but one that has never been accomplished. His ideas on education and nationwide health insurance are obtainable and allow for individual choices in these all-important matters.
In the end, we believe McCain not only has the experience but the mettle and resolve to do what is right for America. We do not believe Obama hangs around with terrorists or that he has socialistic policies or that he shuns the Bible or the flag or the national anthem or that he is dangerous or sinister or that he is anything but a fine individual who would put the nation first. We just happen to believe that between the two of them, John McCain is the better candidate, particularly at this extraordinary juncture in our nation’s history, and we support his candidacy for president of the United States.
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Savannah Daily News:
We believe the candidate who's best equipped to be our country's next chief executive during these difficult times is John McCain. We recommend his candidacy to voters.
The Republican nominee is a man of principle and courage, a man who has been tested on the fields of battle and in the trenches of politics. The veteran Arizona senator is wise in the ways of Washington, but he's not controlled by Washington.
Indeed, his long record in the Senate paints him as honest, independent and tough - characteristics that the nation's 44th president needs more than ever.
Earlier this year, this newspaper endorsed Mr. McCain in Georgia's Republican primary and Barack Obama in the state's Democratic primary. Both men won. Then, they went on to capture the nominations.
Since that time, however, their campaigns have lurched along unimpressively. As the days tick down to the Nov. 4 general election, the candidates have done little to inspire greater trust or confidence, especially as world financial markets imploded.
Still, this is an important election and voters have a choice to make. We hope they focus on what the candidates have done and will do if elected, not on which man seems cooler on camera or is better at soothing, siren-like rhetoric.
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Oakland Press:
It is interesting that McCain has been portrayed as the candidate with strong foreign policy and national security credentials but weak on the economy. He certainly demonstrated his mastery of international concerns during the first presidential debate, and the world is still a dangerous place with too many terrorists bent on flying airplanes into buildings.
But it is on the economy where McCain actually seals the deal. This was made most apparent, in the most down-to-earth terms, when Obama, answering a question from the now-famous Joe the Plumber, admitted his real goal of redistributing wealth.
Obama has been touted as a candidate of great hope for a post-partisan era. Indeed, we need a president who will reject extremism and keep the partisans on the far left and far right out of his administration now more than ever.
Obama lacks the record to justify the hope that he is the man of the hour. By virtue of his experience, longevity and record, McCain is a much better bet to pull off this bipartisan approach.
Hard work, individual initiative and entrepreneurial risk-taking are what made America great and what will keep her great.
John McCain clearly understands this, and that is why we support him for president.
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International Falls Daily Journal:
Sen. John McCain is the right choice for United States president.
While we don’t love everything about McCain, we do believe that his leadership and policies will take the country toward a stable economic future at home and a sensible foreign policy abroad
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It’s time for significant change, not the sweeping change that Sen. Barack Obama is seeking. While Obama has strengths, McCain represents the right kind of change from which Americans will benefit. McCain also brings independence and a track record of crossing party lines for the good of the country.
Clearly, McCain’s economic plan, which involves cutting taxes and freezing government spending, stands out among the candidates. His plan will allow Americans to keep more of their money through tax cuts. And middle class Americans know better how to spend their money than the government does. Increasing taxes on the most successful Americans and corporations, as proposed by Obama, and distributing it to others will simply not create wealth. Instead, it will bring work force reductions and decreases in company profit sharing and capital investments. That is not what America needs today.
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The Bemidji Pioneer endorsed McCain, but now readers have to purchase the archived editorial.
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Same is true for the Red Wing Republican Eagle.
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The Sunday News Tribune endorsed McCain, but I can't find that editorial.
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Sun Prairie Star, which I think is one of the Shaw papers:
McCain has demonstrated his commitment to admit when he's wrong -- and he has publicly admitted when he's been wrong. But when McCain's admitted he was wrong, he has done so without polls or focus groups telling him what to do -- that's called leadership.
It took leadership to stand behind the troops when Obama's party and its leadership declared the war in Iraq lost just last year.
It's McCain's leadership that's been tested through his years as a United States Senator -- and having a solid record of accomplishment. When laying the resumes of these two side by side, the comparison isn't even close.
We urge our readers to hire the more experienced, maverick candidate who's demonstrated he will do what's best for the American people even if that means reaching across the aisle.
For the next President of the United States, vote John McCain for president and Sarah Palin for vice president on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
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