Obama's Editorial Bandwagon

Newspaper endorsements have never elected a president and count for even less today, but those straws in the wind are beginning to blow Barack Obama’s way.

As the President charges his rival with “Romnesia” on the campaign trail, he takes a 3-1 lead in editorial backing.

Says the Denver Post: “From running to the far right on immigration and women's health in the primary and then saddling his campaign with Rep. Paul Ryan's extreme and unrealistic budget, the Romney of this election cycle is not the man elected in Massachusetts...

“On policies ranging from tax reform to immigration, from health care to higher education, none of Romney's numbers add up.”

Obama, according to the Post, has a “record of accomplishment under trying circumstances and his blueprint for a second term make him the best pick to move the nation forward.”

In Florida: “The recovery has proven more difficult than anyone imagined. But conditions would be far worse without the president's steady leadership. This is not the time to reverse course and return to the failed policies of the past. Without hesitation, the Tampa Bay Times recommends Barack Obama for re-election as president.”

Even more impressive is the backing of Obama by the Salt Lake City Tribune. After praising Romney as “one of us,” the Obama endorsement notes:

“Sadly, it is not the only Romney, as his campaign for the White House has made abundantly clear, first in his servile courtship of the tea party in order to win the nomination, and now as the party’s shape-shifting nominee. From his embrace of the party’s radical right wing, to subsequent portrayals of himself as a moderate champion of the middle class, Romney has raised the most frequently asked question of the campaign: ‘Who is this guy, really, and what in the world does he truly believe?’"

Criticizing the President for “anemic” economic growth, the Orlando Sentinel in Florida goes the other way, declaring it’s “Romney's time to lead, again. If he doesn't produce results--even with a hostile Senate--we'll be ready in 2016 to get behind someone else who will.”

Those editorials are not likely to translate into many votes but, before this Sunday’s papers are used to wrap fish or line garbage pails, they may be giving us a whiff of which way the wind is blowing.

 Update: Add the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s endorsement of the President, pointing out that “Obama's leadership has made a difference when it mattered most. His stimulus package helped avert an even worse economic collapse and initiated investments in education, manufacturing and green energy that should yet pay dividends. His commitment to a balanced path toward deficit reduction won't please the most zealous members of either party, but it makes sense for the nation.”

While wishing the President had done ever more, the paper notes that “Romney's frequent changes raise questions about his core principles and make his lack of policy details all the more troubling. They make you wonder if he would stand up to the more extreme elements in his own party, especially to the House Republicans who undercut Ohioan John Boehner's attempts to negotiate a deficit and debt deal.”

The New Yorker weighs in:  "The reëlection of Barack Obama is a matter of great urgency. Not only are we in broad agreement with his policy directions; we also see in him what is absent in Mitt Romney—a first-rate political temperament and a deep sense of fairness and integrity. A two-term Obama Administration will leave an enduringly positive imprint on political life. It will bolster the ideal of good governance and a social vision that tempers individualism with a concern for community. Every Presidential election involves a contest over the idea of America. Obama’s America—one that progresses, however falteringly, toward social justice, tolerance, and equality—represents the future that this country deserves."