It is not a shocker that the nation's newspaper of record has endorsed the President in this editorial.
But perhaps there are parts of the editorial worth noting. They begin by stating the context of the current election, including
An ideological assault from the right has started to undermine the vital health reform law passed in 2010. Those forces are eroding women’s access to health care, and their right to control their lives. Nearly 50 years after passage of the Civil Rights Act, all Americans’ rights are cheapened by the right wing’s determination to deny marriage benefits to a selected group of us. Astonishingly, even the very right to vote is being challenged.
They remind us of achievements despite opposition:
Mr. Obama has impressive achievements despite the implacable wall of refusal erected by Congressional Republicans so intent on stopping him that they risked pushing the nation into depression, held its credit rating hostage, and hobbled economic recovery.
And they are blunt about his Republican opponent:
Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, has gotten this far with a guile that allows him to say whatever he thinks an audience wants to hear. But he has tied himself to the ultraconservative forces that control the Republican Party and embraced their policies, including reckless budget cuts and 30-year-old, discredited trickle-down ideas.
Please keep reading.
This is a long, and thorough, editorial.
Romney's choice of Ryan 'says volumes" about the kind of agenda he would pursue.
Electing Romney would in their opinion end any real chance of ending deficits - of course, anyone who has looked at his tax proposals and his intent to unnecessarily increase defense spending should understand that.
The editorial writers stand firm in their support of the Affordable Care Act, in part because once it is fully in place it will greatly help to control costs.
They praise much of what Obama has done on the economy, and say of Romney and his economic plan that
as much as we know about it, is regressive, relying on big tax cuts and deregulation. That kind of plan was not the answer after the financial crisis, and it will not create broad prosperity.
They find much to praise in Obama's handling of foreign policy, and credit him introducing military restraint and repairing
America’s badly damaged reputation in many countries from the low levels to which it had sunk by 2008.
They support the President on his appointments to the Supreme Court while criticizing what Romney has suggested he might do, and they rightly support the President on his approach on a broad range of civil rights issues.
There is a lot in this editorial.
It is not unexpected.
In its content, it is surely most welcome.
In its final paragraph, the editorialists go beyond merely endorsing the President. For the reasons listed and more
we enthusiastically endorse President Barack Obama for a second term, and express the hope that his victory will be accompanied by a new Congress willing to work for policies that Americans need.
a new Congress - which will even if in Republican control in the House need to move away from its obstructionism and be willing to do the real business of the people.
I welcome this editorial.
I know many do not think they make much of a difference.
But many in the chattering class pay attention, and thus it may also help shape some of the remaining coverage of the campaign?