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Presidential Nod to Clinton-McCain

Des Moines Iowa Register Endorses 2008 Presidential Candidates

Dec 17, 2007 Frank W. Hardy

The much sought-after endorsement by Iowa's Statewide newspaper has been released. News organizations are now scrambling to sample voter reaction in the Hawkeye state.

In the past the endorsements from the editors of the First in the Nations Caucuses have allowed candidates to move up in the pack (if low) or completely break away from the group is tied. It appears this year will be the same. “We believe our job as an editorial board is to arrive at the candidate in each party we think would be the best president, whether a person is leading the polls or garnering 1 percent support,” editorial page editor Carol Hunter wrote.

Hillary Clinton

Currently in a statistical tie with Barack Obama and John Edwards, Hillary Clinton should get a boast away from the group with this endorsement. “Readiness to lead sets her apart from…Barack Obama, who also demonstrates the potential to be a fine president,” the newspaper said. “When Obama speaks before a crowd, he can be more inspirational than Clinton. Yet, with his relative inexperience, it’s hard to feel as confident he could accomplish the daunting agenda that lies ahead.”

The positive endorsement comes after numerous recent setbacks and stumbles by the Clinton Campaign. The drugs remarks and a much mocked email about Obama setting his sights on the White House in kindergarten have contributed to her downslide. The endorsement of Obama by powerhouse talk show hostess “Lady O" the "Big O,” Oprah Winfrey, has aided in the recent Obama surge. Some polls show Obama leading the field which makes this endorsement all that more important to Clinton. If it does not bump her ahead it will at least slow the rate of his growth and her slide.

John McCain

The biggest winner from the news appears to be Senator John McCain. Lagging well behind frontrunners Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney, McCain has been in single digits most of the year. In 2003 John Edwards moved from single digits in November to a second-place finish two months later after the paper’s endorsement.

“McCain would enter the White House with deep knowledge of national-security and foreign-policy issues….He pledges to start rebuilding America’s image abroad. …The force of John McCain’s moral authority could go a long way toward restoring Americans’ trust in government and inspiring new generations to believe in the goodness and greatness of America.”

A mere two weeks earlier McCain receive the endorsement of New Hampshire's largest newspaper, the Union Leader. The Union Leader said of McCain that while “we don't agree with him on every issue, [he] is the most trustworthy, competent, and conservative of all those seeking the nomination." That theme of trust and competence was echoed in the Des Moines Register endorsement.

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The copyright of the article Presidential Nod to Clinton-McCain in American Affairs is owned by Frank W. Hardy. Permission to republish Presidential Nod to Clinton-McCain in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.