In a week where he have seen several key Conservatives come out in favor of Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama, the tide seems to be shifting even further in Sen. Obama's favor. As the polls move more and more to the left, and people are becoming more concerned with Sen. McCain's erratic behavior, even some of the most surprising individuals and entities are coming out in Obama's favor.
First, the one we have all been talking about. On Meet the Press this past weekend, former Secretary of State (and still Republican) Colin Powell endorsed Obama, saying that he is a "transformational figure" and going on to say:
because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities — and you have to take that into account — as well as his substance — he has both style and substance, [Obama] has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president.
But that wasn't the only major endorsement from the Right. Let us not forget about Christopher Buckley, son of National Review founder and Conservative intellectual (yes, that wasn't always an oxymoron!) William F. Buckley, who proclaimed in his endorsement of Barack Obama, "Sorry, Dad, I'm Voting for Obama." Making the "Conservative case for Obama," Buckley declared:
Obama has in him—I think, despite his sometimes airy-fairy “We are the people we have been waiting for” silly rhetoric—the potential to be a good, perhaps even great leader. He is, it seems clear enough, what the historical moment seems to be calling for.
Third, Conservative talk show host Michael Smerconish, came out in favor of Obama, saying "I may have been an appointee in the George H.W. Bush administration, and master of ceremonies for George W. Bush in 2004, but last Saturday I stood amidst the crowd at an Obama event in North Philadelphia." In his explanation he declared "John McCain is an honorable man who has served his country well. But he will not get my vote. For the first time since registering as a Republican 28 years ago, I’m voting for a Democrat for president." You can listen to his endorsement here.
And let us not forget the endorsement of Frank Schaeffer, son of evangelist Francis Schaeffer and one of the founders of the Christian Right movement. As he stated on Democracy Now!:
I come from an evangelical family that was really evangelical royalty in the ’70s and ’80s. My father was a frequent guest in the Reagan, Bush and also even the Ford White House—Bush, first, that is. And my background, therefore, was very unthinkingly Republican. We were always just associated with these folks. And so, in 2000, I was actually on a number of evangelical and right-wing stations, like with Ollie North, for instance, on his radio station, pleading the cause of John McCain, who I thought would be a much better candidate than George W. Bush.
His interview was preceded by an op-ed in the Baltimore Sun entitled An Open Letter to John McCain, which chastises the Senator for "Deliberately Feeding the Most Unhinged Elements of Our Society the Red Meat of Hate."
In a most striking series of passages, Schaeffer proclaims:
John McCain: In 2000, as a lifelong Republican, I worked to get you elected instead of George W. Bush. In return, you wrote an endorsement of one of my books about military service. You seemed to be a man who put principle ahead of mere political gain....You have changed. You have a choice: Go down in history as a decent senator and an honorable military man with many successes, or go down in history as the latest abettor of right-wing extremist hate...John McCain, you are no fool, and you understand the depths of hatred that [surround] the issue of race in this country. You also know that, post-9/11, to call someone a friend of a terrorist is a very serious matter. You also know we are [a bitterly divided country] on many other issues. You know that, sadly, in America, violence is always just a moment away. You know that there are plenty of crazy people out there...“Stop! Think! Your rallies are beginning to look, sound, feel and smell like lynch mobs.
However, it isn't just the columnists that are getting in on the act. It seems as if newspaper after newspaper is endorsing Barack Obama, even those who have traditionally favored Republicans. In the last couple of weeks we have seen the Chicago-Sun Times, Kansas City Star, Southwest News-Herald (Ill.) and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution all endorse Sen. Obama. These papers, however, favored John Kerry in 2004. On this list we can now include The Houston Chronicle, The Austin American Statesman, and The Denver Post, all of which endorsed George W. Bush in 2004. And, maybe most shockingly, the Chicago Tribune has endorsed a Democrat for the first time in its 161 year history, opting for local favorite Barack Obama.
Overall, Sen. Obama now leads the newspaper endorsement tally 121 to 42. In 2004, John Kerry did not even come close to this 3-1 margin, beating out President Bush by a 213 to 205 margin. What may be even more significant is the circulation of the newspapers that have endorsed Obama. While the papers that have endorsed Obama have a circulation of 13.5 million readers, those that have endorsed McCain have a circulation of only 3.8 million readers.
All in all, even considering the way the election seems to be going, it is nonetheless a surprising series of events for so many Conservatives to favor Barack Obama. Let's hope they can sway some of their followers.
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