Yes, I admit it. I love "breaking" diaries. I'm a total news junkie, and nothing gets my heart pounding like breaking a brand new news story to others, especially when it's a good one. And, for Obama supporters, this is definitely a good one. Ohio will be a critical primary. It's the second biggest prize on mini-Super Tuesday on March 4, and, as a perennial swing State in November, it will get the most media attention. And the Cleveland Plain Dealer is the biggest newspaper in the State. And its endorsement is a persuasive one:
BARRING SOME UNFORESEEABLE EVENT, the Democratic Party is about to make history. Its presidential nominee this November will be either the first woman or the first African-American to carry the standard of a major political party. With the contest between Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois a virtual deadlock, Ohio Democrats on March 4 can play a critical role in this historic decision.
As usual with intraparty battles, the policy and ideological differences between Clinton and Obama are slight. Both share the party's liberal traditions on social and domestic issues. Both are committed to expanding health coverage and to closing the gap between rich and poor. Both oppose the Bush administration's strategy in Iraq. Both promise to break America's addiction to carbon-based fuels.
Given these similarities, Ohio Democrats have to ask themselves which candidate is more likely, first, to win the White House, and, then, to persuade a closely divided country to embrace his or her vision of change. Put even more pointedly: Who is more likely to change the world of a child born in 2008?
The answer, we think, is Barack Obama.
W00t!
Update [2008-2-9 19:32:3 by pontificator]: Now that this diary is #1 on the recommended list, I added a few more exclamation points to the title.