by Damozel | According to The Anchorage Daily News, They're "captivated" by Palin's rise, but they're going for Obama anyway.
Gov. Palin's nomination clearly alters the landscape for Alaskans as we survey this race for the presidency -- but it does not overwhelm all other judgment. The election, after all is said and done, is not about Sarah Palin, and our sober view is that her running mate, Sen. John McCain, is the wrong choice for president at this critical time for our nation.
Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, brings far more promise to the office. In a time of grave economic crisis, he displays thoughtful analysis, enlists wise counsel and operates with a cool, steady hand. The same cannot be said of Sen. McCain. (ADN)
They're actually quite mean to poor McCain.
Since his early acknowledgement that economic policy is not his strong suit, Sen. McCain has stumbled and fumbled badly in dealing with the accelerating crisis as it emerged. He declared that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" at 9 a.m. one day and by 11 a.m. was describing an economy in crisis. He is both a longtime advocate of less market regulation and a supporter of the huge taxpayer-funded Wall Street bailout. His behavior in this crisis -- erratic is a kind description -- shows him to be ill-equipped to lead the essential effort of reining in a runaway financial system and setting an anxious nation on course to economic recovery. (Anchorage Daily News)
They also say they don't think Palin's quite ready to be the president's understudy.
Despite her formidable gifts, few who have worked closely with the governor would argue she is truly ready to assume command of the most important, powerful nation on earth. To step in and juggle the demands of an economic meltdown, two deadly wars and a deteriorating climate crisis would stretch the governor beyond her range. Like picking Sen. McCain for president, putting her one 72-year-old heartbeat from the leadership of the free world is just too risky at this time."(Anchorage Daily News)
Editor and Publisher points out that this newspaper---Alaska's largest--- hasn't exactly been friendly to Palin.
Alaska's biggest paper, The Anchorage Daily News, has endorsed Barack Obama for president, despite -- or at least partly because of -- its state governor's presence on the opposing ticket...The paper has drawn national attention with many hard-hitting probes of the governor's background and tenures in elected office.
Alaskan blog Mudflats comments on the endorsement.
As irritated as I have been by the sometimes cloying, often gushy coverage of Sarah Palin, it is inconceivable that any thoughtful person or entity living in the state of Alaska, could possibly think that she is the best choice to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.
The Anchorage Daily News Endorses Barack Obama. (I just felt like typing that again.)....
And to further redeem themselves in the eyes of the Mudflats Editorial Board (me), they have coverage of today’s Obama rally right there on the front page online, with a nice write-up and a picture. I had given the first ever “Moose Nugget Award” to the paper after their heavy coverage of the meager pro-Palin rally, and hardly a mention of the gigantic pro-Obama rally happening at the same time right down the block. Now, I would like to acknowledge that they have tried to make amends, and upgrade them to the coveted “Gilded Moose Nugget!” (Loud applause, and caps tossed in the air! Approving snorts from polar bears, wolves howling and chasing their tails!) (Mudflats)
Heh. This is why every progressive in the Lower 48 loves Mudflats.
Umm…ouch.
And, by the way, I stand by my previous assertions before Powell’s endorsement that his was a watershed moment in this election. Because it gave all the moderate Republicans leaning towards Obama the excuse to say, “Like the distinguished General Colin Powell…”
Which the Anchorage paper mentions, by the way.
The unqualified endorsement of Sen. Obama by a seasoned, respected soldier and diplomat like Gen. Colin Powell, a Republican icon, should reassure all Americans that the Democratic candidate will pass muster as commander in chief.(Anchorage Daily News)
And on it goes. Editor and Publisher, which has been tracking his newspaper endorsements, points out that so far it's been a landslide for Obama.
The Obama lead in editorial endorsements this year turned into a landslide, even a rout today, as dozens of additiional papers backed him, compared to the relative handful for McCain.
Two more major papers that had backed Bush in 2004--the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Providence Journal--came out for Obama, joining at least 35 others who had done the same thing already. In another embarrassment for McCain, the Indianapolis Star, which also supported Bush in 2004, revealed that it would not endorse this year.
Another paper just now backing Obama: The Times-Picayune of New Orleans, which made no endorsement in 2004.
Obama still leads by almost 3-1 in all editorial endorsements. Updated with the latest from today his lead stands at 166 to 62....In a pointed move late Saturday, Alaska's biggest paper, the Anchorage Daily News, endorsed Obama.... The Minneapolis Star Tribune endorsed Obama online late Saturday (while also backing the Republican incumbent for U.S. Senate, Norm Coleman, over Al Franken). The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel also threw its weight to Obama, as did the Des Moines Register and the Bergen Record in New Jersey.
The Hartford Courant endorsed Obama this weekend, making it the newspaper’s second endorsement of a Democratic presidential candidate in its 244-year history.
The St. Petersburg Times in key swing state Florida also endorsed Obama in an online posting.... So did the Charlotte Observer in another key state, North Carolina. Both of those papers went for Kerry in 2004. Ditto for another new Obama backer, the Louisville Courier-Journal.
The Baltimore Sun joined its Tribune brothers and sisters in backing Obama, calling (like so many others before it) Sarah Palin utterly unqualified for higher office. The Star Tribune also highlighted that problem: "Sen. John McCain distinguished himself as an American hero who served his country with honor, but he made a grievous error in his choice of running mate, the newspaper said....The Berkshire Eagle in Massachusetts and the Billings (Mont.) Gazette endorsed Obama today. So did several papers in New York: the Rochester (NY) Democrat & Chronicle, Syracuse Post-Standard, Albany Times-Union, Poughkeepsie Journal and Glens Falls Post-Star.
More for him: the Harrisburg (Pa.) Patriot-News, Lansing (Mich.) State-Journal, Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal, the Times-Leader of Wilkes Barre, Pa., The Day of New London, CT., The Bay City News and Saginaw News in Michigan, the LaCrosse (Wisc.) Tribune, and The Glouceser County (N.J.) Times. (More)
As E&P emphasizes, Obama is getting a significant number of endorsements from papers that backed Bush in 2004. (E&P)
PS. Via TalkLeft, London's Financial Times has also weighed in with an "endorsement" for Obama, even though they don't like his "protectionist" tendencies on trade. They start off--in a phrase from Kingsley Amis--praising him with faint damns.
At the outset, we were not so confident. Mr Obama is inexperienced. His policies are a blend of good, not so good and downright bad. Since the election will strengthen Democratic control of Congress, a case can be made for returning a Republican to the White House: divided government has a better record in the United States than government united under either party.
So this ought to have been a close call. With a week remaining before the election, we cannot feel that it is....
[A] campaign is a test of leadership. Mr Obama ran his superbly; Mr McCain’s has often looked a shambles. After eight years of George W. Bush, the steady competence of the Obama operation commands respect. (More)
The punchline is good:
The challenges facing the next president will be extraordinary. We hesitate to wish it on anyone, but we hope that Mr Obama gets the job.
Memeorandum has discussion here.
RECENT BUCK NAKED POLITICS POSTINGS
The Economy Continues to Stall
Palin Inadvertently Mocks Scientific Research Essential to the Very Cause She Espouses
Countdown: Ashley Todd, the "Backwards B" Hoax, & the McCain Campaign
Will We Better Off in Four Years?
Big deal... Its a McClatchy owned rag. Not an Alaska owned paper.
Posted by: Danny | October 27, 2008 at 10:32 PM
So just so you know the local editors of the Anchorage Daily News didnt' make the decision to endorse the socialist Obama.
http://community.adn.com/node/124201
Posted by: Danny | October 27, 2008 at 10:36 PM