Barack Obama's smashing lead over John McCain in newspaper endorsements could prove significant - especially since the deluge began four days ago, just as Obama began to sink in most polls.
By our count over at Editor & Publisher he leads by a better than 3 to 1 margin (103 to 32 at last count). In contrast, when we did our final count in 2004, John Kerry barely edged George Bush, 213-205, and in elections before then, the GOP candidate almost always took the lion's share of endorsements.
What's startling is when you look at that list of large papers that have backed Obama. It's a who's who of the dominant papers in nearly every giant metro: Boston, New York, both papers in Chicago, Cleveland, Philly, Pittsburgh, D.C., San Francisco, Sacramento, Atlanta, both papers in L.A., Detroit, both papers in Seattle, Portland, Miami, Orlando, Raleigh, Buffalo and more. McCain's only clear wins are in Columbus and San Diego, and barely managing a split in Texas, of all places. It's a veritable landslide.
But even more revealing, Obama has an even wider lead in those that have switched sides. That flipflop number is now close to 25, with McCain only picking up one paper from the Kerry side in 2004 (the Daily Press in Newport News, Va.)
The list of switches to Obama includes such GOP stalwarts as the Chicago Tribune (never has endorsed a Democrat in its long history), Houston Chronicle and Austin American-Statesman, plus the Denver Post, New York Daily News and a host of others. Two other large papers that did not endorse at all in 2004 (the L.A. Times and Plain Dealer in Cleveland) also backed Obama. And the list goes on and on.
What's amazing is that one paper after another cites Sarah Palin as clearly unqualified to be president. Yet many of the pundits that appear in some of the same papers, and others, have not ventured to state this clearly (like David Brooks, who has failed to state this in print). It is clearly a driving point in why so many have switched away from McCain.
Another angle: This wave of editorial endorsements, earlier than in past years, comes just as early voting starts or expands in so many states.
True, many Obama papers are in safe blue states but many others are in the red zone. Certainly the Denver Post will help in Colorado, for example. But let's look at Ohio as a prime case.
I argued here recently that while some scoff at the importance of newspaper endorsements, what about this: On the eve of the 2004 vote, I looked at the 15 top toss-up states and picked the winner for each - based purely on newspaper endorsements (size and number). I got 14 right, only missing on Florida.
I gave Ohio to Bush based largely on the stance of the two largest papers in the state: The Columbus Dispatch backed Bush (after much wrangling) while the Cleveland Plain Dealer sat it out. Sure enough, Bush won a squeaker.
But this time around, the Plain Dealer has backed the Democrat, and most of the other middle-sized city papers have also come out for him (Dayton, Akron, etc.), with the Canton Repository, a Bush backer in 2004 switching to Obama.
So scoff if you like--but when I make my toss-up picks in early November, most likely I will be putting Ohio in the Obama column. And as goes, Ohio....
For the E&P count and numerous other stories on this issue: go here
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Greg Mitchell is the editor of Editor & Publisher. His latest book on the media and Iraq is "So Wrong for So Long."
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Iowa, New Hampshire and New Mexico
also in Florida, Colorado and Virginia
Obama is running even in: Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio
He is threatenin
But let's give McCain Colorado, Ohio, Florida, North Carolina and Nevada he gets to 261 EV while Obama has 277 electoral votes with Virginia. But if McCain gets Pennsylvan
If Obama wins all of Kerry's states (252 EV) he has 3 options to get to 270 plus:
1) 1 state strategy: Ohio or Florida
2) 2 state strategy: 2 small states: Iowa and Virginia or New Mexico
3) 3 state strategy: Iowa and New Mexico and Colorado
Right now McCain is playing defense in states Bush won easily: N.C., Va., Fla., Mo., In., Nv., Ga., N.D., and Ohio. So that leaves him no other choice than to go after Pa.
There is, however, at best a slim to no chance at all of McCain turning Pennsylvan
Granted this could change. But this is basically where the election stands at the moment.
The Pendulum will swing the other way for the next four years... at least. What should really be questioned is the Republican
I bet the repugs were planning on losing this election because they knew what kind of financial meltdown was coming. They let the old man have the nomination
BUT the Obama phenom(a?) caught them off guard and then the gods of timing frowned on them.
I am more worried about the electonic machines in Virginia that keeps switching the vote from obama to McCain. This needs to get out there and people need to take their camera into the booth to document the switching as proof. The Republican
I am more worried about the electonic machines in Virginia that keeps switching the vote from obama to McCain. This needs to get out there and people need to take their camera into the booth to document the switching as proof. The Republican
I am more worried about the electonic machines in Virginia that keeps switching the vote from obama to McCain. This needs to get out there and people need to take their camera into the booth to document the switching as proof. The Republican
I don't care about polls, endorsemen
Hope Defeats Hate in 2008:
(the video giving Repubs heartburn and Dems the warm fuzzies)
http://www
He's toast
Progressiv
http://ere
I made the Huffpo photo of the St. Louis rally my desktop!
I live in Ohio, and we have not given a majority of votes to the Democratic candidate since Lyndon Johnson ran in 1964.
The issues that small town Ohioans vote on are fear of not being able to hunt (a completely groundless fear, I should add) and fear that a tsunami of gay marriages will ruin the sanctity of holy wedlock (also, obviously groundless
That's it. That's rural Ohio.
Better to count on Virginia.
These editors are now being derisively called "Rockefell
Will the GOP's campaign to deter new voters and discard Democratic ballots determine the next president?
These days, the old west rail hub of Las Vegas, New Mexico, is little more than a dusty economic dead zone amid a boneyard of bare mesas. In national elections, the town overwhelmi
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http://cro
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