For the first time since FDR, The Record casts its endorsement for a Democrat, Barack Obama. The Record is a newspaper covering Calaveras and Lockeford/Clements County (home of my birthplace – Stockton, CA).
The unanimous decision was made by our editorial board, which consists of Publisher Roger W. Coover, Managing Editor Donald W. Blount, Opinion Page Editor Eric Grunder, Human Resources Director Sandi Johnson and me (Mike Klocke – Editor).
In the editorial, “Choice is clear: Obama for president”, the editorial staff explain their pick.
Why Barack Obama?
Barack Obama is our choice for president of the United States.
He has demonstrated time and again he can think on his feet. More importantly, he has demonstrated he will think things through, seek advice and actually listen to it.
Obama is a gifted speaker. But in addition to his smarts and energy, possibly his greatest gift is his ability to inspire.
But why – for a paper which has endorsed Republicans since prior to WWII – not John McCain?
He tends to shoot from the hip and go on gut instinct. The nation cannot go through four more years of literally and figuratively shooting now and asking questions later.
But the fact is, we worry he won’t have four years. If elected, at 72, he would be the oldest incoming president in U.S. history. He’s in good health now, we’re told, although he has withheld most of his medical records. That means Gov. Sarah Palin could very well become president.
And that brings us to McCain’s most troubling trait: his judgment.
While praiseworthy for putting the first woman on a major-party presidential ticket since Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, his selection of Palin as a running mate was appalling. The first-term governor is clearly not experienced enough to serve as vice president or president if required. Her lack of knowledge is being covered up by keeping her away from questioning reporters and doing interviews only with those considered friendly to her views.
The Record goes on to shoot down the accusations of Barack Obama being an “elitist”:
He could have gone for the money. He didn’t. He went to Chicago, where he worked to give a voice to those who didn’t have one.
That’s hardly the mark of an elitist.
and an “empty suit”.
After winning the Democratic nomination against a large and highly experienced field of candidates, Obama picked one of them, Joe Biden, as his running mate. Biden brings to the ticket the vast foreign affairs experience and knowledge that Obama lacks.
Obama has been accused of being an empty suit, all talk and no action. There’s no “there” there, his detractors say.
Now, it’s not like McCain could lose California more thoroughly than he already will, but when you lose the endorsement of folks who have given it one to George W Bush, George Bush, Roanld Reagan, Bob Dole, Gerald Ford, Dick Nixon, Barry Goldwater, Dwight Eisenhower, Thomas Dewey and Wendell Willkie – well, that’s saying something.
It’s saying: “goodbye”.
-chris
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