145 letters: Reaction to The Des Moines Register’s presidential endorsement

[justiceischeap]

http://abetteriowa.desmoinesregister.com/2012/10/31/100-letters-reaction-to-the-des-moines-registers-presidential-endorsement/

Following are letters from Iowa residents that were sent through the Letters submission form on Saturday and Sunday regarding The Register’s presidential endorsement.

The Register endorses Mitt Romney? Seriously? Is it new ownership or just temporary insanity? I’m old enough to still subscribe to a physical newspaper, but if I have to put up with this foolishness I might just reconsider whether or not I can live without the familiar rustle of paper with my coffee. Iowa is a moderate State full of moderate people. And we like it that way. If the Des Moines Register thinks that going all “Fox News” is going to increase circulation, I think you have made an error in judgment.
– Don Frank, Des Moines

Don’t even try explaining to us how you can devote so much space to children going hungry in Iowa and then endorse Mitt Romney–because we have cancelled our subscription. Romney and Ryan don’t see a safety net for folks trying to feed their kids; they see a hammock where lazy folks recline. No one in their right mind would call you a liberal newspaper anymore.

– Jae Retz and Roberta Till-Retz, Iowa City

To the editorial staff, Rehka Basu excepted,

I am canceling the subscription to the Des Moines Register I have had for many years. I cannot trust the validity of the news conveyed by an editorial staff that endorses a power-hungry candidate for president who dons a different set of principles like a set of clothing every morning. The Register has abandoned the health and welfare of needy children which, ironically, it chronicled recently, of women, and of the middle class in general. It has put the United States’ international standing on very uncertain footing.

The last time the Register endorsed a Republican candidate for president was the 1972 election. How did that work for you?

– Kathy Penningroth, Oxford

[Blue_In_AK]

1. Lawrence O'Donnell's takedown of the Des Moines Register

on last night's Last Word was epic.

[justiceischeap]

2. I missed it. I'll have to find it and watch. Thanks! nt

[JBoy]

21. Video here:

http://tv.msnbc.com/2012/10/30/odonnell-slams-des-moines-register-endorsement-of-mitt-as-magical-thinking/

[SemperEadem]

23. dag--that gave me shivers!

well done, Lawrence.

[justiceischeap]

29. Thank you! nt

[Raster]

74. Thank you for posting! Amazing. Well done, Lawrence.

Obviously the Des Moines Register is nothing more than a rethuglican mouthpiece.

[ProudProgressiveNow]

17. +1 nt

[Spazito]

18. It really was epic...

He compared the reasons the Register's endorsement of Obama 4 years ago to the reasons they stated for endorsing Romney. Their reasons were nonsensical and bizarre which O'Donnell pointed out brilliantly, imo.

[TeamPooka]

3. DMR ate it this time. big time

[freshwest]

4. Great responses. Call insanity out for what it is.

[Ninga]

5. Because i am obsessed and stressed out, I read all the letters. Quite intersting. I

am not gong to make it to election day in one piece. Now what.

[justiceischeap]

6. Maybe some chamomile tea?

[Ninga]

8. Thank you dear heart....I'm thinking more along the lines of a stiff martini..rather

like the dear Aunt Martha in Arsenic and Old Lace...

Although Chamomile is soothing and civilized, I am feeling I need something stronger to tame my raging worry.

[awoke_in_2003]

51. Have both...

[Ninga]

53. Well tookyoyr advice and had both!

[awoke_in_2003]

54. Well done. nt

[PatSeg]

7. Wow, that's devastating for the Register

At a time when newspapers are struggling to survive, its hard to believe one would endorse a candidate with no concrete justification.

The only up side is they actually published so many letters opposing their decision. Some of those letters were amazing.

[justiceischeap]

9. I think people are getting really tired of partisanship

I think that's why the whole Obama/Christie thing is getting so much play. Partisanship has become so much a part of our political discourse, that people who are reasoned and sane are tiring of it. I think people also know that the reason the President didn't get as much done was because of this partisanship.

[PatSeg]

15. I think you're right

Last edited Wed Oct 31, 2012, 04:31 PM - Edit history (1)

There are a few people out there who will blame it all on Obama and the Democrats, but those people wouldn't ever give Obama credit for anything. Most people are just tired of it all. Its like having children who fight all the time and after a while you can't listen to the excuses and accusations. You just want them to try to get along.

Of course, I think Obama and the Democrats HAVE tried, but the republicans are that super bratty sibling who never gives in, even if it hurts them.

[justiceischeap]

28. I think the President tried too much

when the President of the US is putting things in legislation that Republics have once approved of or even offered originally and then they vote against it you know they aren't going to compromise. I think then would have been a good time where the President says he's not going to extend the olive branch any longer. They aren't going to vote with him, they aren't even going to like him. But at least he and the Dems DID try.

[PatSeg]

30. I know what you mean

I remember the frustration we all felt as Obama kept giving them what they asked for and then they still said NO. Some of those bills were more republican than they were Democratic. Now they try to say that Obama isn't bipartisan and THEY tried to get along, but the President wouldn't work with them. I swear Obama is the most patient man I've ever seen!

Do the republicans in congress honestly believe that their approval rating is so low because Obama wouldn't compromise??? Even people who aren't paying much attention know better.

[Volaris]

41. I think that patience might come to a quick end if the Dems keep control of the Senate.

I think the case can be made to the American People "I tried it their way, and while I'm still willing to work with them (and happy to do so), THIS time its going to be at least a one-for-one deal, if not outrightly tipped in MY parties favor. And if the GOP don't like it, well, we can do it without them, and they can go ahead and lose ANOTHER round of national elections."

I think Obama's Anger Translator Luther might have some well-earned vacation time coming to him after January lol

(On Edit) And no, I don't think the GOP Congress is really too stupid that that's what they think. You get to be a sitting GOP Senator by FAKING being that stupid so your base thinks you're just like them, not by actually BEING that stupid. That's what truly pisses me off about McConnell. He knows full-well he doesn't hate this President half as much as his Base THINKS he does, he's just so fucking craven that he doesn't care about telling them the Truth. If their level of stupid keeps him employed, far be it for HIM to educate those people enough to put himself OUT of the chushy Government Job he likes to abuse.
Now, some of those guys and gals in the House, probably really ARE that stupid, yes. That's the difference between the 2 Chambers.

[PatSeg]

57. Well said

And yes, I agree that there ARE people in the House who could easily be as stupid as they act. Joe Walsh and "You Lie" Joe Wilson come to mind, but I know there are more than I could count.

As for the ones who "fake" being stupid, that must be so exhausting. What a way to live.

[CoffeeCat]

56. I'm from Iowa and for me--it's more than the partisanship...

I detest that a newspaper--which is supposed to tell the truth and maintain journalistic integrity--endorsed a candidate in such a half-baked way that didn't pass the smell test. The endorsement was so full of holes and didn't address anything meaningful.

The Register is known for being progressive, thoughtful and professional. This endorsement was just a joke. It was so intellectually inconsistent. It didn't reflect Iowa, Iowans or the Register.

I heard that Gannett, who owns the Register, is right wing. The rumor is that the publisher had the final say.

As an Iowa, I feel that these thugs--who lean on corporate corruption and cronyism--have infiltrated our state.

It's really a disgusting feeling. How dare they do this to our state.

That is the big problem for me. Their decision was slimy and based on corporate corruption. That does not reflect Iowa or Iowans. This is our newspaper and if this is how it is---then screw them. I don't want any part of that paper, regardless of what they write in the future.

[Indydem]

10. They could not care less about these letters.

145 letters out of a circulation of 105,000.

They do not care. Even if every one of them cancelled their subscription and took 9 other people with them, it is of no importance to them.

[Puzzledtraveller]

12. Exactly, we don't know how many letters of praise they may have got

and new subscriptions, seriously, it's all considered in advance these things.

[olegramps]

31. I don't tend to agree with you. Newspapers are in serious jeopardy. This could put in the red.

It could possibly affect their advertising which is what they survive on. This along with diminishing subscriptions could be fatal. I think they made a tactical error. From what I understand few young people subscribe to the local newspaper. On just a personal note, I live in a neighborhood that is undergoing transition from old farts like myself to younger people who are steadily buying houses in our area that were once the top of the line but have become affordable to many younger professional. I happened to be out front in the early morning and met the lady who delivers the paper. I asked her how are things going. She said that the number of papers that she delivers has gone steadily down over the last five years most from the younger people who have moved in.

[eppur_se_muova]

37. The owner/publisher wanted Rmoney; the editorial staff wanted Obama.

This is why so many of these got published. The people who run the paper day-to-day are letting their disagreement show.

[aquart]

67. 145 angry enough to write represents ten times that many who will no longer buy the paper.

Or didn't you know that?

[Indydem]

73. That's exactly what I said - did you read my comment?

"They do not care. Even if every one of them cancelled their subscription and took 9 other people with them, it is of no importance to them."

[crazy homeless guy]

11. Newspapers should endorse no one unless it is only contained in the opinion section.

[Harriety]

13. I canceled my sub for the Pioneer press back in O4 when they endorsed Bush.

Haven't been back since. My current newspaper, the Minneapolis Tribune and endorsed Barack Obama on Sunday.

[jenlucu]

38. Me too!

I should add, they said they were getting a lot of similar calls that day!

[Cha]

14. Wow, justiceischeap! I absolutely love the first one and all them really..

The Register endorses Mitt Romney? Seriously? Is it new ownership or just temporary insanity? I’m old enough to still subscribe to a physical newspaper, but if I have to put up with this foolishness I might just reconsider whether or not I can live without the familiar rustle of paper with my coffee. Iowa is a moderate State full of moderate people. And we like it that way. If the Des Moines Register thinks that going all “Fox News” is going to increase circulation, I think you have made an error in judgment.

– Don Frank, Des Moines

I heard from a cyberbuddy in Iowa today who is an on the ground activist busy with GOTV and here's a bit of her view..

"We have banked so much of the vote in the red part of Iowa..that it makes no sense that the Register endorsement would make any difference.. Besides the scuttle locally is that the editorial board did not want to endorse Romany but was overruled.. that is why the endorsement was so screwy...praising the President and then endorsing Romney."

Thank you

[justiceischeap]

16. Glad I found it.

It's nice to see people react to something that doesn't seem kosher and to read their opinions.

[Cha]

24. Glad you found it too! It really helps!

[defacto7]

25. Overruled by whom?

I wonder who owns that paper or who paid for it's endorsement? It would be interesting to find out.

[justiceischeap]

26. Apparently the editorial board wanted to endorse the President

Last edited Wed Oct 31, 2012, 04:57 PM - Edit history (1)

but the Editor of the paper overruled them. There's a quote stating the decision rests with her. I think the paper is owned by Gannett and it is somehow linked to Rupert Murdoch or Bain... can't remember which.

[Rob H.]

35. I once worked for a Gannett paper in Idaho

Gannett is as right-wing as they come, and they ousted the union at that particular paper and subsequently treated us employees like faceless, interchangeable pieces of an even larger faceless machine. Hell, the room all of us layout artists were crowded into only got mopped twice in the three years(!) we were in it, and then only when company bigwigs were coming through from out of state. They suck.

[Cha]

27. I read from DUers after the endorsement that it's Gannet. nm

[ProudProgressiveNow]

19. Great reads... nt kr

[libinnyandia]

20. Any newspaper that supports a liar like Romney is a waste of ink and paper. I used to buy

the Sunday Register, but never again.

[lexw]

22. A local paper out my way (the Daily Breeze)...

...that I enjoyed looking to for local news, supports Romney (I just saw this today).
I can't say that I was shocked, but I won't be looking to them for news any longer.

[avebury]

32. Some great responses:

So. You’ve endorsed Mitt Romney, the first Republican presidential candidate since you endorsed Richard Nixon in 1972.

And how’d that work out for you?

====

Jim Hutter, Ames

I’m not surprised with the Des Moines Register endorsement of Romney & Latham. The Register endorsed Hoover against FDR in 1932,also Nixon against JFK in 1960.
– John Navin, West Des Moines

=====

Who on the Register actually wrote the editorial endorsing Mitt Romney and his Etch-a-Sketch? Was it Daddy Warbucks or Mr. Magoo?

– Tom Emmerson, Ames

=====
Good point:

The Salt Lake City Tribune endorses Obama, because it knows who Romney is; the Register endorses Romney, because it doesn’t know who he is.

– James Sutton, Des Moines

[Blue Owl]

33. I wouldn't wipe my dog's ass with the DMR

n/t

[RussBLib]

34. what strikes me is the good grammar and spelling

It's fascinating that so many right-wingers can't write a complete sentence without misspelling something, and all the liberals I know can actually write English and make sense! There's a message there.

[CoffeeCat]

64. I happened to notice that...

...Tom Emmerson from Ames wrote that hilarious "Daddy Warbucks" comment. He is the head of the journalism department at Iowa State University.

He was one of my former professors!

Smart people like Obama.

[mountain grammy]

36. Been spending 2 weeks a month for 9 months in Texas

caring for my 90 year old father in law... It's the crazy part of Texas, near Odessa. The "Odessa American" endorsed RMoney and rants about Obama, who can do nothing right and is planning to do crazy, evil things. The Winkler county rag also rages on Obama. Wink, Tx. is only 8 miles from where we stay, famous as the boyhood home of the late, great Roy Orbison.
The DesMoines Register has been abducted by the likes of Steve King and Chuck Grassley.

[Gabi Hayes]

46. Ever been to Dime Box?

http://www.google.com/search?q=dime+box+texas&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&ie=utf8&oe=utf8#hl=en&safe=off&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&sclient=psy-ab&q=dime+box+texas+blue+highways&oq=dime+box+texas+blue+highways&gs_l=serp.3...28235.32906.0.33360.14.10.0.0.0.0.875.4704.0j1j3j1j1j1j3.10.0.les%3B..0.0...1c.1.CUCsGYdfA10&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=732e8f29b50cc4e&bpcl=36601534&biw=853&bih=346

[mountain grammy]

61. Nope, never heard of it. Will look it up on the next trip.

[Gabi Hayes]

80. Blue Highways mentioned it. fantastic book about a trip around the US using the "blue" highways....

on the roadmaps.....the back roads

check amazon for reviews

time to read it again....one of my favorites

[MADem]

39. Let me be the 99th person to rec this marvellous compendium! nt

[Rider3]

40. Thanks for posting this

I needed it!

[rhett o rick]

42. I think there is an important lesson here. Partisans have the money to own our media.

They could care less if they sell papers.

[elbloggoZY27]

43. Stop Your Subscription

Anybody who supports the Romney Ryan ticket for President is not rational in their thinking.

Sad day for Iowans.

[CoffeeCat]

44. Here is my response to the Des Moines Register

I live in a suburb of Des Moines and I am embarrassed for our entire state. This is not about The Des Moines Register endorsing Romney instead of Obama. I've read many pro-Romney pieces that make a thorough case. This is about The Register's endorsement which was ridiculously half-baked, sloppy and incomplete--while ignoring Romney's stated policies, his record and his own words.

The holes in this endorsement are jarring. Each paragraph begs obvious questions that aren't addressed. Conclusions are made without evidence; while ignoring low-hanging facts that could decimate such flimsy conclusions.

Iowans are known for being thoughtful, politically astute and mindful when it comes to politics. We take our "first in the nation" status seriously. This endorsement makes our state look intellectually lazy. I don't know what happened during these editorial meetings, but I do know that the process that churned out this lazy endorsement does not reflect Iowans or Iowa. It barely reflects The Des Moines Register.

The Des Moines Register has a proud history of professionalism. Its editorial pages feature a variety of opinions--from left, center and right. However, the Romney endorsement stands out as one of the most important--yet incompetent and absurd pieces--to emerge from its pages. Anti-journalism at its finest.

Many at The Register know that the endorsement decision was corrupt and made for the wrong reasons by sources outside of Iowa. Will Register writers prevent these details from seeing daylight--as they continue to work as columnists, writers and journalists--whose central job is to expose truth to their public? Will Iowans, who deserve truth, ever hear it from those at The Register who have the power to give it to us?

I find myself wondering what Barbara Mack, former attorney for the Des Moines Register and First Amendement champion, would say. What would Barbara Mack do? Maybe someone from The Des Moines Register could channel her fairness, bravery and professionalism and do the right thing.

I am ashamed that out-of-state influence and corruption could have cemented the decision to endorse Romney. The omissions, holes and assumptions made in this fantastical endorsement are evidence that this was a sloppy and inauthentic decision made for reasons that have no business taking root in our Iowa landscape.

I hope that someone from The Des Moines Register musters the integrity to lift the veil and reveal the real story behind the decision to endorse Romney. If the growing trend of corruption is allowed to permeate our trusted and beloved Iowa institutions, like the Des Moines Register, then this is a disaster not only for Iowa, but for our country and for democracy as well.

Iowans deserve a Des Moines Register that will not let this stand.

[progressoid]

45. I was going to get a gift subscription of the Register for a family member.

Not any more!

[CoffeeCat]

55. This really has been devastating for me on many levels...

My morning routine consisted of getting up, making coffee, getting my Des Moines Register and pouring over it at the table. This was one of my favorite parts of the week. Plus, I'm a couponer and I love getting the Sunday coupons!

Last Sunday was the first Sunday in fifteen years, that I did not get a Des Moines Register.

I will never buy it again, unless they do a big mea culpa on this.

What bothers me the most, is not the Romney endorsement per se. It's that they didn't even make a half-assed try and making a good case for Romney. It was like lumpy oatmeal.

I understand that the publisher ultimately had the final word. The paper is owned by Gannett and they're right leaning, yadda, yadda.

Well, you know what? This is Iowa. This is a newspaper in Iowa. I will not support bullshit corporate corruption and candidate endorsements that are based on what's good for the frickin one percent owners who do not even live in this state. Screw them. I don't want their out-of-state corruption with my morning coffee anymore.

It's just really disgusting that this malarkey can be brought into Iowa--when their views do NOT represent Iowans or even The Des Moines Register. If this is how they roll--I won't be buying that paper. I fail to see how this won't affect their bottom line. Republicans hate the Register, and the paper did have a liberal slant. So, all they did was piss off the majority of the people who purchase the paper. GREAT business sense! Grrr...I could go on.

It's disappointing isn't it???

[rurallib]

47. I held my response until Monday

By then I was really pissed.
Well they are the Gannet Register in Des Moines in reality. They really don't give a fuck about Iowa anymore.

[Don C. Nuttin]

48. There's that weird parallel universe, again.

I believe the Des Moines Register has a right to endorse political candidates, and I do not begrudge them for selecting the candidate of their choice. For I grew up in a town where Sam Brownback's in-laws owned the daily newspapers, so Republican endorsements by local newspapers do not particularly shock me. What did shock me was the text and reasoning of the endorsement. Maybe I isolate myself too much from world-views far different than my own, but in the universe I live in the entire idea that there is some reason to believe that Romney will be able to do something that reduces the debt crisis is entirely unsupported by his pronouncements (other than conclusory statements that "I will reduce the deficit&quot or by history, which conclusively shows that deficits explode during Republican Presidencies.

[LaPera]

49. Very disgusting assholes!

Great piece by the excellent Lawrence O'Donnell I saw last night on O'Donnell MSNBC Show The Final Word - O'Donnell showed the duplicity & hypocrisy so clearly in the Des Moines Register Endorsement that it's completely disgusting and pretty screwed up!

What a bunch of lies this shall and will be exposed for their own lies and partisan crap Have they even considered Romney's blatant lies about GM & jeep?

Republicans simply make-up the most appalling lies possible...

Then get some republican news-writer/supporter to write the article as fact in which Romney simply quotes the article as fact - then runs with lie in television ads....

This from the same article that was made up in the first place by Romney's advisers and written by one of their own republican people, purposely written to distort, smear & lie as they put the lie as an article in one of their minor republican blogs and/or newspapers.

Romney's staff then gives the media the name of the blog or newspaper the lying article it was written in - and then we find out of course, it's a little republican owned newspaper rag and a republican supporters writing what they are told....All and solely to trash Obama unfairly with complete lies & distortions.

Scruple-less republican tactics!!

This underhanded crap is just plain wrong....this reeks of Karl Rove tactics - These lies the republicans make up have absolutely no validity what so ever.

Yet Romney just says he read it "somewhere" while still is going with the lie knowing all along it's not true..... as GM & Chrysler have publicly and loudly stated Romney is telling a lie....

Which doesn't deter the lying flip-flopping say anything to steal the election Romney!

Republicans are saying forget about the majority...we want our narrow right-wing views and agenda forced though, Republicans saying "Screw our Democracy.

Greed & selfishness - Fragrant, blatant lies. - Simply shameless and sadly the sick corrupt arrogant vindictive hateful republicans really don't care.

[speedoo]

50. Yes indeed. Vote with cancelled subscriptions.

Big time backfire.

[dchill]

52. Whew! They're really taking a ripping...

for their inexcusable error.

[benld74]

58. Living in the so called 'Show Me State',,,

where the STL Post Dispatch endorses Obama, but the remaining non-large cities portion of the state carries GOP, I can understand how the minority of Iowans feel!

[rrp3]

59. The Des Moines Register’s presidential endorsement Bain

The Des Moines Register is owned by Bain, enough said.

[russspeakeasy]

60. WOW AND I'M NOT KIDDING. WOW,

The letters are great.

[KCDem]

62. Houston Chronicle--anyone know if there was such an outpouring of disgust?

I couldn't believe it when the Chron endorsed Romney. I don't read it frequently, but I just started getting Sundays only and saw that they endorsed Romney several weeks ago. I believe they endorsed Obama 4 years ago. I couldn't believe the op-ed and just wanted to gag the whole time. Before you make some "blah blah blah Texas blah" statement, keep in mind: Houston does have a lesbian mayor. We're not as backasswards as most of Texas.

[tavalon]

69. That brings to mind an old saying

Damned with faint praise.

I lived in Austin and San Antonio for too many years. Austin can be okay but San Antonio is backassward and just freaky fucked up. It's like a whole other country, as the tourist board once touted.

[CrispyQ]

63. Wow, I love this, from the 2nd letter in your excerpt:

Romney and Ryan don’t see a safety net for folks trying to feed their kids; they see a hammock where lazy folks recline.

Nicely put.

And this one from excerpt three:

The last time the Register endorsed a Republican candidate for president was the 1972 election. How did that work for you?

[Tigress DEM]

65. Iowa! They know how to hand it out!!

Love this parting shot!!

The last time the Register endorsed a Republican candidate for president was the 1972 election. How did that work for you?

[upi402]

66. Are they trying to end print news?

People who read are still willing to do work for info.
Low information voters don't care.
Rightwingers love to HATE. But there are tons of places on TV and radio to get that.

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

[thjudd81]

68. Damn Moines Newspaper.

Bravo to those standing of for my state's largest newspaper. That paper is dead to me.

[Blue Gardener]

70. 30 minute wait yesterday to cancel a subscription

I had a friend tell me she had a 30 minute wait to cancel her subscription. There are a lot of pissed off Iowans.

[justiceischeap]

76. Maybe they just put your friend on hold

'cause they didn't want to deal with yet another cancellation.

[phylny]

71. What I find most uplifting and heartwarming

is that the writers KNOW their facts. They know about Bain's pirate equity, that he only made the Olympics whole by way of a government bailout, and about how his opinions shift when it's convenient for him.

Bravo, smart readers (and former readers!)

[spicegal]

72. "Dons a different set of principles like a set of clothing every morning"......well said. For the

life of me I don't understand why people in this country tolerate that level of dishonesty and lack of conviction in a presidential candidate. Shame on the Des Moines register. And how well did it work out for the country the last time we had a Republican administration???? The GOP has NOT changed. If anything, they're worse.

[madrchsod]

75. my how the mighty has fallen

once a beacon of light in the midwest has now grown dim...

[closeupready]

77. Well, I guess they are so flush with cash, they don't need

to worry about retaining readership...?

[tpsbmam]

78. They can't completely blame it on being a Gannett paper.....my Gannett paper endorsed BO

The Asheville Citizen Times is also a Gannett paper and it endorsed Obama:

Editorial: Allow Obama to build on progress

<snip>

It’s hard to know exactly how these differences apply to the presidential race because, despite having essentially run for president for six years, it’s still hard to get a handle on many of Romney’s positions. It is difficult to know whether a President Romney would be the progressive who governed Massachusetts or the partisan of the campaign trail.

Would we get the Romney who championed universal health insurance for his state or the one who opposes it for the nation? Would he be the governor who said a Massachusetts coal-burning power plant was killing people or the campaigner who said, “I like coal?”

<snip>

In the long run, however, intent does not matter. To insist on bringing the budget into balance without new revenue means drastic cuts in programs. Whether champions of such policies intend to or not, the results will be increasing costs to those least able to pay.

Much has been said on the campaign trail about promises Obama made in 2008 and did not keep. It must be pointed out, however, one promise that was kept was the pledge in 2010 by Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell to make the defeat of Obama his No. 1 priority. It’s little wonder that’s played a significant role in a gridlocked government.

(More at the link.)

So, as much as the editorial board and others may try to dismiss this endorsement as simply because this is a Gannett paper, the excuse doesn't cut it IMO. Those responsible for this endorsement in this paper need to own it -- they can't get away with chalking it up to being owned by Gannett when other Gannett papers are doing the right thing and endorsing Obama.

[sebastianj333]

79. I know it! Here in Nashville, TN was much of the same reaction

When The Tennessean endorsed Romney, a paper, that has endorsed Democrats since Ronald Reagan for President.
I know how the people of Des Moines feel!

Here's just one example:

"I suppose it wasn’t completely surprising The Tennessean failed to publish any letters in Friday’s edition critical of the paper’s endorsement Thursday of Mitt Romney, aka The Lie-A-Minute Man. It’s not surprising because The Tennessean ceased to display any bravery in its news coverage when it was bought by that great ruiner of journalism, Gannett. But just for the record, on the social media networks yesterday one word kept popping up to describe the paper’s endorsement — pathetic. That word kept popping up because “pathetic” is the word that best describes not only the newspaper’s endorsement of Liar and Liar Jr., but also because it is the word that best describes the current state of The Tennessean. Congratulations ladies and gentlemen, you are pathetic. Also, good luck with all those subscription cancellations."
Dl Sanders
Nashville 37206


i know how he feels!