Reno, Elko papers split on endorsements
RENO -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama gained an endorsement Sunday from the Reno Gazette-Journal, while Republican presidential contender John McCain picked up the endorsement of the Elko Daily Free Press.
The Gazette-Journal said that Obama has demonstrated equanimity, a sense of humor and a grounding, despite facing some questionable accusations during the campaign. The newspaper said the Illinois senator has shown that he's a gamble worth taking.
"That is exactly what the United States needs most right now, a leader who can inspire us to greatness again ... Is Obama that leader? There are no guarantees in politics. But from everything that he has demonstrated during this long campaign, and everything McCain has failed to demonstrate, Obama appears to be the right candidate for these times," the newspaper wrote.
The Gazette-Journal said Obama's responses to its editorial board's questions earlier this year were "smart, thoughtful and occasionally humorous."
"That is what Americans have witnessed over the past year in what surely has been one of the most grueling presidential campaigns of our lifetime," the newspaper wrote.
In its endorsement Friday, the Elko newspaper said McCain would do a better job of controlling federal spending.
"Neither candidate is recognizable today compared to who they were two years ago, before they started campaigning. The moderate, reform-minded man of integrity, Sen. John McCain, has turned himself into a right-wing Frankenstein in order to scare up voters from the Republican base," the newspaper wrote.
"We have chosen to ignore the theatrics and endorse the man behind the mask, the John McCain who stands up to wasteful spending and isn't afraid to break through party lines to get the job done."
