Reno Gazette Journal Endorses Obama

[Emit]

This is good, here in Reno - although, as one of the comments from this link notes, "And the usual crowd complaining about how this just proves that the RGJ is a liberal rag will apear in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1..."


And kudos to rgj for pointing out the desperate cries of the McCain campaign:

Obama is right candidate for these daunting times

~snip~

As McCain has fallen behind in the polls, his campaign has appeared increasingly desperate, bouncing from message to message. First, Obama was an empty-headed "celebrity" to be compared with Paris Hilton. Then he was joined at the hip with a 1960s radical and called "dangerous." And over the past two weeks, the McCain campaign has sought refuge behind the great American bugaboo, socialism, by taking Obama's use of a common American ideal, sharing the wealth, out of context.

That's too bad because Sen. McCain is, in fact, an honorable man who in past years has fought against the worst instincts of his party. He was, for instance, an author of one of the most important campaign-finance reform bills of the past couple of decades (and has suffered in this election because of its constraints), and he fought for the comprehensive immigration reform bill that the country needed. He is indeed a true enemy of earmarks and pork-barrel spending (even if his running mate is not).

Yet, the senator's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention was a good example of the McCain problem. When he spoke of his experiences in Vietnam, his love of his country and his dedication to serving its people, McCain was at his best: emotional, believable, even compelling. The rest of the speech fell flat: He appeared uncomfortable, uninterested and uninteresting.

That also has been the hallmark of his presidential campaign, in which he has appeared, at times, to be convinced that he had earned the presidency and shouldn't have to prove himself against any young whippersnapper. His performances in the televised debates were disappointing, dismissive of his opponent and occasionally disturbing.

There also are reasons to be concerned about some of Sen. Obama's policy proposals. In particular, he is wrong to suggest any tax hikes in the middle of these tough times, whether for the "rich" or anyone else. And there is a danger that congressional Democrats, despite their historic low approval ratings, will come to believe they've been handed carte blanche to quickly enact their wish list by the voters should Obama win next week.

Yet, throughout this withering presidential campaign -- a campaign in which some of the most incredible accusations have been made against him and have been believed by a certain segment of the populace -- Sen. Obama has demonstrated a consistent equanimity, a keen sense of humor and a grounding that no "celebrity" could match. The conservative columnist David Brooks, writing in the New York Times recently, put it this way: "This has been a period of tumult, combat, exhaustion and crisis. And yet there hasn't been a moment when he has displayed rage, resentment, fear, anxiety, bitterness, tears, ecstasy, self-pity or impulsiveness."

~snip~

http://www.rgj.com/article/20081026/OPED01/810260341/1098/OPED

[MadBadger]

1. I thought this was a RW rag?

[Hope And Change]

2. K & R!