Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Endorses Obama

[RamboLiberal]

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So forget all the primary skirmishing. Sen. Obama is every bit as prepared to answer the ring of the 3 a.m. phone as Sen. Clinton. Forget this idea that Sen. Obama is all inspiration and no substance. He has detailed positions on the major issues. When the occasion demands it, he can marshal eloquence in the service of making challenging arguments, which he did to great effect in his now-famous speech putting his pastor's remarks in the greater context of race relations in America.

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This editorial began by observing that one candidate is of the past and one of the future. The litany of criticisms heaped on Sen. Obama by the Clinton camp, simultaneously doing the work of the Republicans, is as illustrative as anything of which one is which. These are the cynical responses of the old politics to the new.

Sen. Obama has captured much of the nation's imagination for a reason. He offers real change, a vision of an America that can move past not only racial tensions but also the political partisanship that has so bedeviled it.

•
To be sure, Sen. Clinton carries the aspirations of women in particular, but even in this she is something of a throwback, a woman whose identity and public position are indelibly linked to her husband, her own considerable talents notwithstanding. It does not help that the Clinton brand is seen by many in the country as suspect and shifty, bearing the grimy stamp of political calculation counting as much as principle.

Pennsylvania -- this encrusted, change-averse commonwealth where a state liquor monopoly holds on against all reason and where municipal fiefdoms shrink from sensible consolidation -- needs to take a strong look at the new face and the new hope in this race. Because political business-as-usual is more likely to bring the usual disappointment for the Democrats this fall, the Post-Gazette endorses the nomination of Barack Obama, who has brought an excitement and an electricity to American politics not seen since the days of John F. Kennedy.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08107/873625-192.stm

Fantastic! Gee wonder if Hil & Bill's new buddy Richard Mellon Scaife will endorse her?

[dkf]

1. Doing my happy dance!!

:bounce:

[davidinalameda]

2. very good endorsement

[Zachstar]

25. Indeed! But even tho it is a gain it may not mean votes!

Please do not let up! Please Phonebank!!

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/phonebankmap/

[anonymous171]

3. GREAT NEWS!

[usregimechange]

4. 40th largest paper in the US! 238,860 circulation!

[williesgirl]

5. And I keep hearing that Pittsburgh is HRC country! bullshit. rec'd

[Zachstar]

24. We don't know that yet.

Please phonebank to help turn the tide!!

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/phonebankmap/

[usregimechange]

6. Guys, this is a HUGE endorsement! Pittsburg is absolutely vital to the Obama camp, this will help!

[writes3000]

7. Fan-freaking-tastic!!! Good for them! Good for all of us! n/t

[usregimechange]

8. Has the Philadelphia Inquirer endorsed anyone yet?

[RamboLiberal]

12. They endorsed Obama way back in January

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But in an election where change is the operative word, would the former first lady represent that? After two Bush presidencies, many Americans don't see change in a Clinton dynasty. Hillary's high negatives in polls may have more to do with her husband's behavior as president than anything she has done since. But those negatives suggest she could be a catalyst for division when the nation longs for unity.

Given that, BARACK OBAMA is the best Democrat to lead this nation past the nasty, partisan, Washington-as-usual politics that have blocked consensus on Iraq; politics that never blinked at the greedy, subprime mortgage schemes that could spawn a recession; politics that have greatly diminished our country's stature in the world.

Obama inspires people to action. And while inspiration alone isn't enough to get a job done, it's a necessary ingredient to begin the hard work.

Obama's appeal to Americans to have the audacity to hope, even in the face of tragedies such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, has fallen on fertile ground. Americans want desperately to believe they can overcome any difficulty - given the right leadership.

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The question is whether a first-term U.S. senator with no major record as an Illinois legislator is ready to be president. His life story says yes. This former community organizer knows how to bring people together to beat the odds. Others who seemed an unlikely fit rose to the occasion once in the Oval Office. Obama could do that, too.

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080126_Inquirers_Democratic_endorsement_for_president__Obama.html

They need to reprint this!

[BlooInBloo]

9. Wow.

[usregimechange]

10. K/R!!!

[Zachstar]

20. Kick 2.0!

:kick:

[guyanakoolaid]

22. Kick... through the uprights

:kick:

[JeffR]

11. Pittsburgh doesn't count.

;-)

[johnnydrama]

13. pfffft, elitist Pittsburgh, PA

They may not be as elitest a city as Allentown or Scranton, PA but they're close...

[melody]

14. Please use the sarcasm icon, I beg of you

Yes, I know you don't need it as certainly with Obama backers but someone will come along and say
"but Allentown and Scranton are working class!" I promise you they will.

[BlooInBloo]

18. No matter how clear it's made, there's no way to prevent idiots from being idiots....

.... Damn those elitist Uniontowners!

[melody]

No, but it's painful to watch

Very painful.

[BlooInBloo]

21. Damn Clarion elitists!

:P

[Zachstar]

15. I wonder if Obama could possibly win Pittsburgh?

Here is to the hope! Please Phonebank!!

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/phonebankmap/

[stratomagi]

16. Yay! Not a surprise.

Wonder who the Scaife rag will endorse.

[Arrowhead2k1]

17. but but but Obama's a snob!

We PROVED it! How could they?!

[SoCalDem]

19. "...suspect and shifty..." PA DOES know our Little Hilly

:rofl:

[TheDonkey]

23. Thank you PPG. Has the trib endorsed Hillary yet?

[RamboLiberal]

26. Kicking this for the day crowd

:kick: