Endorsements

I have always been rather skeptical of the supposed importance of newspaper endorsing one candidate or the other. I have never heard of someone being swayed by the awesome power of a daily’s editorial board. It seems to me to be a whole lot of navel gazing. That said, a candidate would prefer to get the endorsement rather than not, if for no other reasons than it is good PR.

And while I doubt that the Chicago Tribune’s endorsement will have any consequence greater than any other paper, its historical significance is pretty damn striking. For the first time in its 161 year history, the Trib is backing the Democrat.

...And but minutes after I posted this, I see that Colin Powell is endorsing Obama as well. In the grand scheme of things, it is hard to see how that helps Obama beyond generating some good press but it will surely make some of the Beltway conservatives livid. Sean Hannity ought to be put on suicide watch.