Liberal Values Defending Liberty and Enlightened Thought

Hillary Clinton expected to win the Democratic nomination with little difficulty and was unprepared for serious opposition. I suspect that the discomfort with the degree to which the Clintons acted as if they deserved to be in power, as well as opposition to the lack of principles they exhibit, was far more wide spread among Democrats than the Clintons ever expected. The New Republic has two stories which show that Clinton’s support among her “supporters” was far weaker than she suspected.

The first story involves her endorsement by The New York Times. Although Obama has dominated the newspaper endorsements, an accomplishment of questionable significance, I was not surprised that a New York newspaper would give the endorsement to their Senator. The New Republic reports that this was a split decision:

According to Times sources, the paper almost didn’t back Clinton. The divisions within the Gray Lady’s editorial board mirrored the deep divide that has split Democrats in this tightly contested campaign. The 20-member board had initially leaned toward Obama, Times sources say. But in January, after the board had debated the endorsement in two separate sessions, Times chairman and publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. decided to favor Clinton. Times editorial page editor Andrew Rosenthal, declining to comment on the internal debate, acknowledged that the vote was a difficult one. “It was a really hard one, no question about it,” Rosenthal told me. “We talked about this within our board for hours. It was a very lively, interesting discussion. Several members of the board said it was the best discussion they’ve had.”

As the primary season steams towards Ohio and Texas on March 4, some at the Times are now questioning the editorial board’s judgment. “We’re on the wrong side of history,” one Times staffer said. Indeed, the Times stands apart from the majority of major American newspapers. Obama has racked up endorsements from more than 100 newspapers across the country, including the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times Company-owned Boston Globe, the Newark Star-Ledger, as well as the four biggest dailies in Texas and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. (Here are lists of Clinton and Obama‘s respective newspaper endorsements.) “The endorsement didn’t win me any friends,” Rosenthal admitted to me.

Another article at The New Republic shows that the Center for American Progress, thought to be “an unofficial outpost” for Clinton, was actually full of secret Obama supporters: (more…)