It’s pretty bad when the biggest newspaper in your own home state won’t endorse you. I mean, that’s pretty bad.
The Anchorage Daily News (http://www.adn.com/opinion/story/567867.html) has endorsed Barack Obama for president — and said some pretty straightforward, tough things about Alaska’s own governor in the process.
Now I know already that die-hard Sarah Palin supporters will say the same old tired things…”It’s all about the left-wing media…”, etc., etc. — but thoughtful, undecided voters may want to listen to what the largest newspaper in the vice presidential candidate’s own state has to say on this subject…

Said the Daily News…
“Gov. Palin’s nomination clearly alters the landscape for Alaskans as we survey this race for the presidency — but it does not overwhelm all other judgment. The election, after all is said and done, is not about Sarah Palin, and our sober view is that her running mate, Sen. John McCain, is the wrong choice for president at this critical time for our nation.
“Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, brings far more promise to the office. In a time of grave economic crisis, he displays thoughtful analysis, enlists wise counsel and operates with a cool, steady hand. The same cannot be said of Sen. McCain.”
The paper then goes on to offer some extraordinary insights into the two men at the top of their party’s tickets. I think you should read this…
“Since his early acknowledgement that economic policy is not his strong suit, Sen. McCain has stumbled and fumbled badly in dealing with the accelerating crisis as it emerged. He declared that “the fundamentals of our economy are strong” at 9 a.m. one day and by 11 a.m. was describing an economy in crisis. He is both a longtime advocate of less market regulation and a supporter of the huge taxpayer-funded Wall Street bailout. His behavior in this crisis — erratic is a kind description — shows him to be ill-equipped to lead the essential effort of reining in a runaway financial system and setting an anxious nation on course to economic recovery.
“Sen. Obama warned regulators and the nation 19 months ago that the subprime lending crisis was a disaster in the making. Sen. McCain backed tighter rules for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but didn’t do much to advance that legislation. Of the two candidates, Sen. Obama better understands the mortgage meltdown’s root causes and has the judgment and intelligence to shape a solution, as well as the leadership to rally the country behind it. It is easy to look at Sen. Obama and see a return to the smart, bipartisan economic policies of the last Democratic administration in Washington, which left the country with the momentum of growth and a budget surplus that President George Bush has squandered.”
Yet what about the biggest issue of all…who can bring true newness to Washington? Is it the “maverick” team of McCain/Palin, or the “change” team of Obama/Biden?
Here is Alaskan newspaper was equally clear. Said the Daily News:
“Sen. McCain describes himself as a maverick, by which he seems to mean that he spent 25 years trying unsuccessfully to persuade his own party to follow his bipartisan, centrist lead. Sadly, maverick John McCain didn’t show up for the campaign. Instead we have candidate McCain, who embraces the extreme Republican orthodoxy he once resisted and cynically asks Americans to buy for another four years.
“It is Sen. Obama who truly promises fundamental change in Washington. You need look no further than the guilt-by-association lies and sound-bite distortions of the degenerating McCain campaign to see how readily he embraces the divisive, fear-mongering tactics of Karl Rove.”
And what about the Iraq War issue? Surely Sen. McCain gets higher marks than Obama on that, right? I mean, isn’t John McCain the one who all the Republicans say is better able to lead this country out of the Iraq debacle?
Let’s see what the Daily News feels about this…
“And while Sen. McCain points to the fragile success of the troop surge in stabilizing conditions in Iraq, it is also plain that he was fundamentally wrong about the more crucial early decisions.
Contrary to his assurances, we were not greeted as liberators; it was not a short, easy war; and Americans — not Iraqi oil — have had to pay for it.” (Boldface mine.)
The paper pointed out that “It was Sen. Obama who more clearly saw the danger ahead.”
And now, on the subject of its state’s own Governor, the Anchorage Daily News offers us this insight…
“Gov. Palin has shown the country why she has been so successful in her young political career. Passionate, charismatic and indefatigable, she draws huge crowds and sows excitement in her wake. She has made it clear she’s a force to be reckoned with, and you can be sure politicians and political professionals across the country have taken note. Her future, in Alaska and on the national stage, seems certain to be played out in the limelight.
“Yet despite her formidable gifts, few who have worked closely with the governor would argue she is truly ready to assume command of the most important, powerful nation on earth. To step in and juggle the demands of an economic meltdown, two deadly wars and a deteriorating climate crisis would stretch the governor beyond her range.
“Like picking Sen. McCain for president, putting her one 72-year-old heartbeat from the leadership of the free world is just too risky at this time.” (Once again, boldface mine.)
Well, that’s certainly telling it like it is…yes? If your own hometown newspaper can’t support you, what does that say? Is that a wake-up call, or what??? I mean, I ask again…does anyone seriously think that the hockey mom dressed in $150,000 worth of new clothes paid for by small contributions to the Republican National Committee by people like Joe the Plumber is really and truly ready run the most powerful nation on earth? Or, let me put it this way….would YOU be? If YOU had to step into the presidency tomorrow, would you feel ready to lead this nation through the thicket of world political, financial, and military problems? Be honest. Would you? Or would you feel just a little….JUST a LITTLE…overwhelmed?
And if your honest answer is yes…well, there’s goes your theory that Sarah Palin would make a fine, fine president because she’s “one of us.”
Um….don’t we need just a little bit more than the mayor of a small town who at the time of her selection had been governor of a state with fewer residents than Los Angeles for 18 months?
C’mon. Be honest now. Gee, this isn’t rocket science here. Everyone in the country is becoming more and more clear…even the majority of the country’s top conservative columnists…that Sarah Palin is just plain and simply not qualified to be president. And as former Secretary of State Colin Powell said….THAT is the job of the vice president. The vice president does NOT “run the Senate,” as Ms. Palin erroneously announced the other day…
Gee whiz. I mean, c’mon…