This One Says a Lot

I will be the first to say that newspaper editorials mean just about zilch electorally. They are a long-time tradition of our country's papers, but today with many Americans getting their news from sources other than papers including cable news and the Internet, editorial endorsements mean much less today than they did decades ago. No one questions that, though, they still have value, particularly in smaller communities, and they can only help a campaign, however little.

With that in mind, we get a presidential endorsement today from the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska's largest paper, and it might not be the one some people would have expected:

Gov. Palin's nomination clearly alters the landscape for Alaskans as we survey this race for the presidency -- but it does not overwhelm all other judgment. The election, after all is said and done, is not about Sarah Palin, and our sober view is that her running mate, Sen. John McCain, is the wrong choice for president at this critical time for our nation.

Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, brings far more promise to the office. In a time of grave economic crisis, he displays thoughtful analysis, enlists wise counsel and operates with a cool, steady hand. The same cannot be said of Sen. McCain [...]

Yet despite her formidable gifts, few who have worked closely with the governor would argue she is truly ready to assume command of the most important, powerful nation on earth. To step in and juggle the demands of an economic meltdown, two deadly wars and a deteriorating climate crisis would stretch the governor beyond her range. Like picking Sen. McCain for president, putting her one 72-year-old heartbeat from the leadership of the free world is just too risky at this time.

Alaska is a small state, and the ADN is one if its few papers. But this is not about ADN's influence on the electorate there: Alaskans will give McCain-Palin a victory next week (though, I think it will be closer than expected), regardless of this editorial. No, this editorial says a lot about both Sarah Palin and the people running the paper. If Palin's own homestate major paper -- a paper whose reporters and board know the governor better than any other paper oe media outlet in the country -- can't bring itself to endorse her, what does it say for her candidacy? Not very much.

This endorsement also says a lot about the Daily News' political courage. Endorsing Palin would have been the easy choice, and a lot of people up in Alaska and probably down here expected it as a formality, even if the ADN is seen as a left-leaning paper. But the board of the paper knows that Palin is unqualified to be veep. This is no small matter up there, as a lot of Alaskans who have enormous pride in Palin's selection will be very angry by this decision. Will this lead to the paper's bankruptcy and folding? No, but it is still a move that took some guts, and I give the Daily News a lot of credit.

Again, if the paper that knows Sarah Palin better than any other one on earth and tells us she should not be elected, how can anyone disregard that?