It took some time--and bucking the whole Western Pennslvania Democratic establishment-- but it's here:
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.
It includes these "Yes. We Can." musings:
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.
And these "Change the Mindset that Got Us into the War" reflections:
On foreign policy, both are united in their desire to bring the troops home from Iraq while improving the strategic situation in Afghanistan, the place of unfinished business where the al-Qaida spiders first spun their deadly web for 9/11 and are coming back thanks to the Iraq diversion.
On Iraq, for those inclined to remember, Sen. Clinton carries more baggage, for she voted to approve the war in the first place. For those inclined to forgive, she would seek to repair relations with allies strained by the Iraq misadventure, as Sen. Obama also would.
And these "Ready from Day One" musings:
Their strengths promise, in short, the one thing that the Bush administration has so shockingly lacked: competency. There will be no intellectually lazy president in the White House if either succeeded to it, no outsourced thinking to the vice president or the secretary of defense, no cheerfully shallow praise for unqualified political appointments, no enduring cause for embarrassment by the American people.
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.
And these "Elitist" airings:
Nor is he any sort of elitist. As he said yesterday in effectively refuting this ridiculous charge in a meeting with Post-Gazette editors, "my life's work has been to get everybody a fair shake."
Let us hope-- with Casey's wonderful new Obama commercials running now steadily, the Steelers' endorsement over the weekend, and Obama's cleaning up in tonight's debate--that the real Hillary exit date is now just next Tuesday, April 22.
This is my first diary, by the way, and I am due up for a new day in two hours. Be kind; I could not wait to share the news.
UPDATE: Richard Mellon Scaife's Tribune Review waxes in today's 4/16 edition:
Stung by Hillary Clinton's capitalization on his "bitter" small-town voters remark, Barack Obama came out firing. Well, sort of. "She is running around talking about how this is an insult to sportsmen, how she values the Second Amendment. She's talking like she's Annie Oakley," Mr. Obama said. With regard to citizens' gun rights, you're no Doc Holliday, Senator. ... While admitting that he may have chosen his words "badly," Obama in Pittsburgh earlier this week said, "(W)hen I hear my opponents, both of whom have spent decades in Washington, saying I'm out of touch, it's time to cut through the rhetoric and look at the reality." We have, and the burden on taxpayers to achieve Obama's reality is quite distressing. ... The first Pennsylvania poll after Obama's "bitter" gaffe shows Mrs. Clinton widening her lead. A survey by the American Research Group of 600 "likely" Democrat primary voters shows Obama trailing Clinton by 20 percentage points. This, when a previous poll put Obama within 5 percentage points of his rival. Has a chink in Obama's armor finally materialized? Stay tuned. ... And on the subject of political prognostications, former President Jimmy Carter says he's confident Democrats will rally around their presidential candidate come fall. Then again, Mr. Carter believes talking with terrorists -- Hamas -- will advance peace in the Middle East. Next!
Next?
Next!