Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Endorses Obama-Democrats Deserve a Nominee for Change

[Divernan]

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Barack Obama: Democrats deserve a nominee for change
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


So forget all the primary skirmishing. Sen. Obama is every bit as prepared to answer the ring of the 3 a.m. phone as Sen. Clinton. Forget this idea that Sen. Obama is all inspiration and no substance. He has detailed positions on the major issues. When the occasion demands it, he can marshal eloquence in the service of making challenging arguments, which he did to great effect in his now-famous speech putting his pastor's remarks in the greater context of race relations in America.

Nor is he any sort of elitist. As he said yesterday in effectively refuting this ridiculous charge in a meeting with Post-Gazette editors, "my life's work has been to get everybody a fair shake."

This editorial began by observing that one candidate is of the past and one of the future. The litany of criticisms heaped on Sen. Obama by the Clinton camp, simultaneously doing the work of the Republicans, is as illustrative as anything of which one is which. These are the cynical responses of the old politics to the new. Sen. Obama has captured much of the nation's imagination for a reason. He offers real change, a vision of an America that can move past not only racial tensions but also the political partisanship that has so bedeviled it.


Pennsylvania -- this encrusted, change-averse commonwealth where a state liquor monopoly holds on against all reason and where municipal fiefdoms shrink from sensible consolidation -- needs to take a strong look at the new face and the new hope in this race. Because political business-as-usual is more likely to bring the usual disappointment for the Democrats this fall, the Post-Gazette endorses the nomination of Barack Obama, who has brought an excitement and an electricity to American politics not seen since the days of John F. Kennedy.

First published on April 16, 2008 at 12:00 am
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Read more: www.post-gazette.com

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Here we go, Obama, here we go! Get out your terrible towels, Pittsburghers - between this endorsement and Dan Rooney and Franco Harris, and Senator Casey - Pittsburgh is going to deliver for Obama on election night.

[Tesha]

1. Wow! Just wow! Nail, meet hammer, and squarely! (NT)

> This editorial began by observing that one candidate is of the
> past and one of the future. The litany of criticisms heaped on
> Sen. Obama by the Clinton camp, simultaneously doing the work of
> the Republicans, is as illustrative as anything of which one is
> which. These are the cynical responses of the old politics to
> the new. Sen. Obama has captured much of the nation's imagination
> for a reason. He offers real change, a vision of an America that
> can move past not only racial tensions but also the political
> partisanship that has so bedeviled it.

Precisely.

Tesha

[amihol]

3. :)

[tabasco]

2. Thanks PG! A really good newspaper.

It burned me up to see Hilly at the Trib kissing Scaife's ass.

[Divernan]

4. Too bad the mods moved this - it IS news that he won this endorsement.

In any case, this is the most nuanced, analytical, lengthy endorsement I have ever seen in the PG.

Here's another piece of it:

"To be sure, Sen. Clinton carries the aspirations of women in particular, but even in this she is something of a throwback, a woman whose identity and public position are indelibly linked to her husband, her own considerable talents notwithstanding. It does not help that the Clinton brand is seen by many in the country as suspect and shifty, bearing the grimy stamp of political calculation counting as much as principle."

[Tesha]

5. Here's a "deep link" direct to the Editorial...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08107/873625-35.stm

[Divernan]

6. Thanks

[Purveyor]

7. Thank you for posting this. K&R EOM