The endorsements begin!

The newspapers have begun endorsing candidates. So far they are overwhelmingly favoring Obama. I found this list of the endorsements so far at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspaper_endorsements_in_the_United_States_presidential_election,_2008

What does this say?

McCain has endorsements from 24 newspapers. Of those, in 2004 eighteen endorsed for George Bush and 6 were unknown or did not make an endorsement.

Obama has endorsements from 100 periodicals (94 newspapers, 6 magazines). Of those, in 2004 seventy endorsed John Kerry , 17 endorsed Bush but have now changed to Democrat, and 13 were unknown or did not make an endorsement.

What does this mean? Probably not much. Endorsements were more in Kerry's favor in 2004 and he didn't win. But the margin was not quite as high. He had about 2-1 favor in endorsements from newspapers. But Obama now has a 4-1 margin in endorsements. Surely that means something. Yes?

In any case, below I've put links to some of the endorsements and some quotes. If you want to see more, you can follow this link above to Wikipedia to find more. I've put more for Obama because... well... there ARE more for Obama.

Here are some of the endorsements for Obama:

The Philadephia Inquirer: http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20081017_For_President__Obama_will_lead.html

Both major candidates are trying to avoid association with Bush's failed policies. But only one does so successfully. On every issue important to America, Barack Obama offers a plan that would pull this nation from the precipice built by bad Bush decisions. The Inquirer endorses BARACK OBAMA for president.

The Denver Post: http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_10741576

If Americans were only worried about foreign affairs, McCain's stalwart service in the military and experience on the national stage would make him the more credible commander in chief. But our eyes have turned homeward and, in this hour, Obama has the eloquence and vision to bring us back together.

The Miami Herald: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/campaign-2008/story/730751.html

Sen. Obama represents the best chance for America to make a clean break with the culture wars and failed policies of the past, and begin to restore the hope and promise of America as the world's greatest democracy.

The Los Angeles Times: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-endorse19-2008oct19,0,5966124.story

We need a leader who demonstrates thoughtful calm and grace under pressure, one not prone to volatile gesture or capricious pronouncement. We need a leader well-grounded in the intellectual and legal foundations of American freedom. Yet we ask that the same person also possess the spark and passion to inspire the best within us: creativity, generosity and a fierce defense of justice and liberty.

The Times without hesitation endorses Barack Obama for president.

The Chicago Tribune (which has never endorsed a Democratic nominee for president): http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-chicago-tribune-endorsement,0,1371034.story

On Nov. 4 we're going to elect a president to lead us through a perilous time and restore in us a common sense of national purpose.The strongest candidate to do that is Sen. Barack Obama. The Tribune is proud to endorse him today for president of the United States.

The Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/16/AR2008101603436.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

Mr. Obama is a man of supple intelligence, with a nuanced grasp of complex issues and evident skill at conciliation and consensus-building. At home, we believe, he would respond to the economic crisis with a healthy respect for markets tempered by justified dismay over rising inequality and an understanding of the need for focused regulation. Abroad, the best evidence suggests that he would seek to maintain U.S. leadership and engagement, continue the fight against terrorists, and wage vigorous diplomacy on behalf of U.S. values and interests. Mr. Obama has the potential to become a great president. Given the enormous problems he would confront from his first day in office, and the damage wrought over the past eight years, we would settle for very good.

The Rockford (Illinois) Register Star: http://www.rrstar.com/opinions/x1776799965/Our-pick-for-president-Obama

With nothing on a firm footing — not the economy, not the war, not health care — the leader of the free world should be just that: a leader.In endorsing Obama over Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain, we’re choosing a man who we’ve come to know as an earnest, smart and, yes, charismatic politician...

The Chicago Sun Times: http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/1228111,sun-times-endorses-barack-obama-101908.article

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.
Our endorsement for president of the United States goes to Sen. Barack Obama, Chicago's adopted son. He has the unique background, superior intellect, sound judgment and first-rate temperament to lead our nation in difficult times.

The Kansas City Star: http://www.kansascity.com/340/story/845717.html

...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.

Amazingly, the Salt Lake (Utah) Tribute endorsed Obama: http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_10750163

On tax policy, Obama would sensibly increase taxes for individuals making more than $250,000 a year, while cutting taxes for everyone else. He also would send money to the states for public works improvements that would generate jobs. His intent to increase the capital gains tax, however, is foolhardy while businesses struggle to weather the economic meltdown. McCain would cut taxes for people in all income brackets, as well as mandate big reductions in corporate income taxes. It is a trickle-down plan that would do little to reduce the deficit. McCain's foreign policy objectives virtually replicate Bush's disastrous course. His disdain for diplomacy is troubling, and his faith in eventual U.S. "victory" in Iraq is ill-defined. We simply cannot afford perpetual war. Obama knows this. And his nuanced approach would help America recover it's global prestige. Indeed, we see too many of Bush's failed policies in McCain's recipe for recovery. The country desperately needs a new and well-defined road map for the 21st century and leadership that can unite the country behind it. We believe that Barack Obama can give us both.

The (Portland) Oregonian: http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2008/10/obama_for_president.html

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.

The San Francisco Chronicle: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/16/BALP13H6V9.DTL&type=politics

Throughout a campaign that has been intense - and at some points ugly - Obama has kept his composure and maintained a vision of optimism that has drawn an unparalleled wave of young people into the political process. His policies and his persona have offered hope to a nation that is deeply polarized, swimming in debt, mired in war and ridden with anxiety. He taps into that treasured American reservoir - patriotism - with his calls for sacrifice and national service.
Barack Obama is the right president for these troubled times.

The Boston Globe: http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/10/14/obama_for_president/

With great enthusiasm, the Globe endorses Senator Barack Obama for president. The charismatic Democrat from Illinois has the ability to channel Americans' hopes and rally the public together, at a time when the winds are picking up and the clouds keep on darkening.

The St Louis Post-Dispatch: http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-platform/campaign-2008/2008/10/sunday-editorial-barack-obama-for-president/

In making political endorsements, this editorial page is guided first by the principles espoused by Joseph Pulitzer in The Post-Dispatch Platform printed daily at the top of this page. Then we consider questions of character, life experience and intellect, as well as specific policy and issue positions. Each member of the editorial board weighs in.
On all counts, the consensus was clear: Barack Obama of Illinois should be the next president of the United States.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08286/919151-35.stm

...this election is not just about the shortcomings of Mr. McCain and Ms. Palin and the failed legacy of a philosophy that they seek to perpetuate under the hastily erected banner of maverick.
It is about the strengths of Barack Obama, whose rise to prominence is not a fluke or national infatuation but the consequence of his remarkable skills -- a keen intellect, noble intentions and the wit and grace to express them in ways that have inspired millions across the country. He has a rare gift exactly suited to the fearful times -- he knows the language of reassurance and hope.
If his were just empty words, this would be just another cheap political gift. But what he says is carefully considered. In the debates and on the hustings, Mr. Obama has been the voice of moderation, combining common sense and compassion on issue after issue. When the subject turns to foreign policy, supposedly Mr. McCain's strong suit, Mr. Obama gives no indication that he will have to learn on the job.

The Seattle Times: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2008190671_obamaed21.html

Obama should be the next president of the United States because he is the most qualified change agent. Obama is a little young, but also brilliant. If he sometimes seems brainy and professorial, that's OK. We need the leader of the free world to think things through, carefully. We have seen the sorry results of shooting from the hip.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/382005_obamaed.html

If the country ever needed new direction under a fresh, steady, calm president, this is the time. Sen. Barack Obama is the country's hope, the kind of promising, intelligent leader who comes along perhaps once in a generation.
Obama is the best candidate for president. He has the vision, patience and fortitude to put America on a track to recovery after an eight-year run of financial irresponsibility, aggressive adventurism abroad and mismanagement, secrecy and dissembling on numerous fronts.

The Nashville Tennessean: http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081013/OPINION01/810120372/1007/OPINION

This newspaper believes Obama would be an inspiring choice at an extraordinary time for the nation. The country needs a fresh, energetic face in the White House. Every race for president is important, but the current confluence of events, including the war on terror, mountainous challenges in the economy and a growing strain upon the nation's health-care system make the current race a call for vigorous new approaches and enthusiasm.
Obama has managed to put a tone of optimism in his campaign at a time it would be very easy to be downhearted, worried and pessimistic. That characteristic alone goes a long way in demonstrating the kind of leadership the nation needs.

Here are some of the endorsements for McCain:

The Tampa Tribune: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/oct/17/uncertain-times-require-mccains-tested-vigilance/

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.

Also, while the Philadelphia Inquirer officially endorses Obama, they did offer a dissenting opinion and endorsement for McCain (The one thing I will say about this piece: at no point does it say where McCain is superior to Obama on the issues.): http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20081017_For_President__Obama_will_lead.html#mccain

No one is better prepared than John McCain to serve as commander in chief and lead the country as it seeks successful outcomes in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and to work with Pakistan to help kill or capture the perpetrators of 9/11. McCain's actions as a POW in Vietnam were heroic. In Congress, he has become intimately familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of the Pentagon.

The Dallas Morning News: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081018/ap_on_el_pr/presidential_endorsements_11

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 Union Leader in New Hampshire: http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=McCain+for+President%3a+A+real+leader+for+America&articleId=fef1a585-b873-4fb1-8896-11cb27546ab0

The troubles that will face the next President of the United States are numerous and perilous. They will test the character, the resolve and the mettle of the man we choose to deal with them. Of the two men who stand on the precipice of that great office, only John McCain has proved that he has what it takes to make the tough decisions in a time of crisis.

The Boston Herald: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/editorials/view/2008_09_30_McCain_for_President:_A_certain_leader_for_uncertain_times/

Another sobering start to an exceedingly sobering week - but one which points to the need for a political leader who is steady in the face of crisis, mature in judgment and able to reach across the aisle to break the gridlock that has for too long gripped Washington.
That man is Sen. John McCain and at this critical moment in history, this paper is pleased to endorse his candidacy for president of the United States....Being president is about policy and about getting that policy right.
But being president is also about character. During his decades of service to his country John McCain has given us all ample evidence of his courage, his character and his leadership. And never more has this nation needed a president with all that John McCain has to offer.

The New York Post: http://www.nypost.com/seven/09082008/postopinion/editorials/post_endorses_john_mccain_128044.htm

McCain's lifelong record of service to America, his battle-tested courage, unshakeable devotion to principle and clear grasp of the dangers and opportunities now facing the nation stand in dramatic contrast to the tissue-paper-thin résumé of his Democratic opponent, freshman Sen. Barack Obama.