Toledo Blade Endorses Obama

Big news, because often the Blade will sit out primary endorsements.  But the board felt the need to take a stand.  It is a powerful endorsement that appears front and central on the Blade's homepage

We are not yet ready to say who we will endorse in November. But we wholeheartedly agree with something our editorial board heard on Sunday: 'We have to have a government that works for ordinary people. We've got to be able to bring the country together so we have a working majority for change. We have to break down some of the ideologically driven polarization that prevents us from taking practical steps to make the country more competitive and to get opportunity to people.'

We urge Ohio Democrats to vote on Tuesday for the man who spoke those words, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois. It has become clear during the year-long primary campaign that he eclipses Sen. Hillary Clinton as the strong­est possible candidate to run in the general election against the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain.

I'll add one more paragraph from the editorial to stay within the rules here:

Moreover, we believe that Mr. Obama's inspiring life story, keen intellect, strong but quiet confidence, ready grasp of public policy issues, and his fresh and optimistic world view are what America needs after eight years of an administration that repeatedly has shown open contempt for the American people and for the Constitution.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

The Blade's editorial board interview of Obama is also available to watch.

This is great news from one of Ohio's most influential papers.

•  tips for victory

  Don't forget that we are 30 points down.

  by zenbowl on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 07:21:23 AM PDT

  •  Newspapers heart Obama n/t

    by Acacia951 on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 07:23:16 AM PDT

    •  Unfortunately they also seem to heart McCain

      by Yoshimi on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 07:38:15 AM PDT

      •  Not the blade.

        Other papers.

        by Yoshimi on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 07:40:39 AM PDT

        •  they have never endorsed a republican

          I tend to forget how lucky I am to live in Toledo.  

          by Jesus was a Liberal on Sat Mar 01, 2008 at 07:39:27 PM PDT

  •  Great----I was waiting for that one----

    I have been an admirer of The Blade from afar---originating from their pursuit of Repub corruption there.  Always make sure to stop and get one as we drive thru from Il. to visit family in Ct.
       

    by dotster on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 08:01:02 AM PDT

•  Glade they were really listening

  tipped and rec'd.

  by zic on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 07:23:07 AM PDT

•  The Blade is BIG!!!

  A great paper, they broke the entire Coingate Scandal, and are respected around the state for their in-depth and gutsy investigative journalism.  This is no rag!!

  by serrano on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 07:23:10 AM PDT

  •  Yes

    They also won a Pulitzer   for exposing Vietnam-era atrocities a few years ago.

    by zenbowl on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 07:24:48 AM PDT

    •  I was trying to remember why they were, at the

      back of my mind, a good paper.

      by Yoshimi on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 07:39:28 AM PDT

    •  and just got edged out on the Noe story

      They broke it and worked it.

      by Zwoof on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 08:40:35 AM PDT

  •  I'd go further than that

    I think they're a nationally respected paper.

    Granted - they are a local newspaper, but their investigative journalism chops run rings around the NYT, WaPo, etc.

    by zonk on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 07:56:06 AM PDT

•  other Ohio endorsements

  If I recall, The Dayton Daily News endorsed Obama. The Cleveland Plain Dealer endoresed Obama. The Akron Beacon Journal endorsed Clinton. Anybody know about the Columbus paper (Post Dispatch?) or the Cincinnati Enquirer? I guess I could google it...

  by The Mort Man on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 07:23:34 AM PDT

  •  I think Columbus Dispatch endorsed Clinton

    not 100% sure though.  As for Cincinnati, both papers are tools of the right wing so who cares.

    by N Watt on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 07:43:40 AM PDT

    •  Columbus and Akron -- HRC

      Nothing yet from the Cincinnati Enquirer.

      by Over the Edge on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 08:29:16 AM PDT

•  Yes!

  Now the editorial writers at the Akron Beacon Journal who endorsed Hillary look even more out of step. I believe the ABJ is the only major newspaper in Ohio not to endorse Obama. The Blade just made them look clueless.

  by Getreal1246 on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 07:34:33 AM PDT

  •  Columbus Dispatch, too. n/t

    by Over the Edge on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 08:30:10 AM PDT

•  Wow...well said Blade.

  by CriticalThinker on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 07:34:58 AM PDT

  •  Great info, zenbowl.

    It's refreshing that they selected the candidate they believed in rather than the one leading in the (Ohio) polls.

    by pamelabrown on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 07:45:42 AM PDT

•  The Toledo Blade has to the best name

  for a newspaper. It sounds great and is an obscure historically reference.

  Plus it would be a great superhero name.

  Tipped and Recced

  by Phlogiston Junkie on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 07:54:26 AM PDT

  •  Doh

    That should be "has to be the best name".

    That is what I get for posting in the morning.

    by Phlogiston Junkie on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 07:55:44 AM PDT

  •  I agree

    I wish the paper I worked for had such a cool name. I wish I got to tell people, "Hi, I'm (blank), and I'm with the Blade."

    How badass.

    by droogie6655321 on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 08:26:30 AM PDT

•  The Blade

  really is one of the best papers in the country...

  They have been for years -- their work is on par, and often BETTER, than the stuff pumped out by the better known NYTs, WaPos, et al.

  The Toledo Blade is an exemplar of the finest in journalism.

  Realizing, of course, that the editorial board is separate from the newsroom -- it's nonetheless a very good get.  Given Obama's stances on transparent government and ethics -- and the Blade's well-known penchant for rooting out corruption and government waste, it's a match made in heaven.

  by zonk on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 07:54:30 AM PDT

•  Holy Toledo!

  Just had to say it!

  by SteamPunkX on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 08:14:34 AM PDT

•  one of best investigative reporting staffs

  don't know much about the paper beyond that

  but it is the most important paper in a part of the state whose Demographics might otherwise indicate strength for HRC.

  by teacherken on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 08:19:39 AM PDT

•  That is an impressive endorsement!

  I would urge everyone to both read the whole thing as well as listen to the audio of the endorsement interview.

  Thanks for bringing this to our attention, zenbowl!

  by Jennifer Clare on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 08:24:30 AM PDT

  •  Ouch.

    Certainly there may be some misguided prejudice against women. But that isn't what is going on this year. We agree the nation is more than ready for a female president. But Hillary Clinton is handicapped by her own baggage, and it has to do with her character, not her gender.

    by Over the Edge on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 08:33:51 AM PDT

    •  That had to hurt.

      But if you listen to the interview, one of the editors does mention that her press person in Ohio (I am paraphrasing, don't remember the exact quote) 'apparently does not think that newspapers are important' and would not schedule an endorsement interview with them. May very well have ruffled some feathers at the editorial board to have been dismissed like that.

      by Jennifer Clare on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 08:50:37 AM PDT

•  woo hoo Holy Toledo

  I hoped his visit to the Blade office this week would pay off. The editorial board really liked him.

  thanks zen, I've been having trouble getting the Blade Online lately here. One of their AP scripts is being Great fire walled.

  by Zwoof on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 08:32:40 AM PDT

•  I listened to the interview.

  I really like that kind of quiet question and answer format. It was really cool to hear his extended answers on some issues.

  by geejay on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 09:36:56 AM PDT

•  I'm especially glad to see The Blade endose Obama

  ... because I interned as a reporter at the paper's Washington Bureau in the early 1980s. The (Toledo) Blade helped give me my start in journalism and that's sort of like never forgetting your first love.

  It was weird to see The Akron Beacon Journal endorse Clinton, though, while The Plain Dealer went for Obama. Back when I was a J-school student at Kent State University, the old Knight-Ridder ABJ was known as being the more liberal paper, and the PD was the conservative one. I guess a lot has changed since I left my last newspaper job in Ohio back in the 1990s.

  "It says here that the unions will never learn.
  And it says here that the economy is on the upturn.
  And it says here we should be proud that we are free,
  and our free press reflects our democracy." - Billy Bragg, "Brewing Up," circa 1982.

  by philimus on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 02:25:13 PM PDT

  •  Damn, I mean "endorse," of course ...

    ... so much for my lousy typing today.

    by philimus on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 02:56:22 PM PDT