Months before the presidential election in 2008, the world’s financial system ground to a standstill — thanks to a system so devoid of regulations and enforcement that banks and financiers no longer trusted each other.
That’s the mess Barack Obama stepped into when he took office in 2008. Obama engineered a turnaround. In the hands of a president less pragmatic, less cool under pressure, it might not have happened.
After his first four years, Obama is a proven leader. He wins the Journal Star’s endorsement for president.
America needs a leader who will look out for the interests of the middle class.
OK, admittedly, my hometown newspaper isn't that bad, but I don't think it's ever endorsed a Democrat for president - not since I've lived here, at least. Even in 2008, after eight years of George W. Bush, when every single Republican policy proved to be a complete and utter failure, they still endorsed John McCain and
And Nebraska is pretty much a one-party state - solidly Republican. Even our few Democrats are Republicans. Sen. Ben Nelson is easily the most Republican Democrat in the Senate, always trying to show Nebraskans how conservative he is.
And Bob Kerrey, the 'Democrat' who's currently running to replace him (and losing badly), has a campaign ad where he basically says that Democrats are terrible and promises to be nothing like them. (And the Nebraska Democratic Party wonders why they can't get more members!)
So this is a big deal. True, it's unlikely to change any minds. And there's no way that Barack Obama will win Nebraska anyway. But I'm impressed that the Lincoln Journal Star took such an unpopular stand (unpopular with Nebraskans and with their corporate owners, I suspect).
Maybe the Republican Party has finally become too crazy even for Nebraskans? Well, some of us, at least.
Wow, that is pretty amazing. Maybe the editors of the paper have been reading your blog. :)
ReplyDeleteHeh, heh. I doubt if they've even been reading my comments in their own paper, John.
DeleteBut I don't know. Maybe Jeff convinced them. He's commenting there now. What do you say, Jeff? :)
Right on cue, Jody P. throws a temper-tantrum:
ReplyDelete"The LJS has come out of the closet and emerged as the Lincoln Socialist Star. Big surprise. Two things immediately jump out here:
1. It's been obvious for years now that the LJS (now LSS) is a liberal publication. Everyone on here who disagreed with me on that is now shown to be either a liar, fool, or both. It clearly proves that these people are incapable of seeing what's plainly there right in front of us all to read.
2. This editorial is nothing more than a collection of superficial talking points straight from the Obama campaign, and shows no evidence of any independent thought. The simple-minded repetition of the class-warfare rhetoric is particularly disheartening."
Here's question, Jody P: What liberal group owns the LJS?
Jody P. is the kind of person the Republican Party has been wooing for decades. He believes everything that's on Fox 'News.' He's a Rush Limbaugh dittohead. He believes that science is a liberal conspiracy. Heck, he believes that everything is a liberal conspiracy. And he hates how white Christians face so much discrimination these days, even forced to let black people use the same water fountains as 'real' Americans.
DeletePeople like him are the GOP base these days. They're not all that crazy, but they're at least sympathetic to the crazy. At the very least, they tolerate it, if not encourage it.
These are the people the GOP deliberately wooed in their 'Southern strategy.' These are the people they've encouraged on Fox News. Not all Republicans are like this - some of them even regret it - but that's the heart and soul of the party these days. And deliberately so. Republican leaders did all this for their own political advantage.
Did you notice Jody P won't answer my question? All he did was babble something about me having the most non-nonsensical comment of the day.
DeleteOK, so I'll type.....slowly....so....he....can....understand....me:
What....."liberal"......group......owns.......the.....LJS,Jody?
I read the paper the other day and almost fell out of my chair! Hard to believe the LJS endorsed Obama, after endorsing George W twice, and McCain in '08.
ReplyDeleteOf course, that won't change a single vote in Nebraska (a lost cause for Democrats anyway). It's still nice to see there's someone with a brain and/or a shred of integrity in their editorial department. Do you suppose anyone will lose their job over this endorsement?
I don't know, Gregg. It doesn't surprise me that any informed person would choose Barack Obama over Mitt Romney, but I am surprised that their corporate owners would let them do this, especially in such a right-wing state (and given the financial struggles of newspapers in general).
Delete