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Wall Street Journal Endorses Obama (Sort of)

By Jack M. Balkin

To the chagrin of the Republican Party, a number of prominent conservatives have in recent weeks announced their support for Obama (or their inability to support McCain-Palin). But this was entirely unexpected: Today the Wall Street Journal endorsed Barack Obama for President.

Every vote for a nonincumbent Presidential candidate is in some sense a risk, given the power and complications of the job. But in both his lack of experience and the contradictions between his rhetoric and his agenda, Barack Obama presents a particular leap of hope. It is a sign of how fed up Americans are with Republicans that millions are ready to take that leap even in dangerous times.
To his supporters, such as Colin Powell, the first-term Senator has the chance to be "transformational," the kind of gauzy concept that testifies to Mr. Obama's unusual appeal. His candidacy is certainly historic, and that isn't simply a reference to his Kenyan father and American mother. One secret to Mr. Obama's success is how little his campaign has been marked by race, at least not by the traditional politics of racial grievance. He has run instead on a rhetorical theme of national unity, a shrewd appeal to voters weary of the polarizing debate over Iraq and the Bush Presidency.

Mr. Obama has also understood the political moment better than his opponents in either party. In the primaries, he used his inexperience to advantage by offering himself as a liberal alternative to what seemed like an inevitable, and dispiriting, Clinton replay. He then turned around in the general election to project sober reassurance amid the financial crisis, which was the moment when his poll numbers began to climb above the margin of error against John McCain. His coolness reflects what seems to be a first-class temperament. And while community organizing may not be much of a credential for the Presidency, Mr. Obama's ability to organize a campaign speaks well of his potential to manage a government.
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Perhaps this is the kind of leadership the American people want after the Presidential certitudes of the Bush years. Americans certainly are eager for fresh start, and it is typical of periods of economic panic that they may even be willing to reach for the kind of alluring but untested appeal that so marks Mr. Obama. Sometimes these gambles pay off, and sometimes they don't.

Okay, it wasn't quite an endorsement--although surprisingly close to one given the source. They listed a bunch of Obama negatives, to be sure (there are subscribers to please), but it began and ended in a positive fashion. They chose to post a truly spectacular photo of Obama with the essay, which says a lot in itself. And notice how little was said about John McCain as president.

Does this essay reflect resignation at what they consider a likely Obama victory? Or is the WSJ actually suggesting that to vote in the hope of bringing about positive change--what Obama represents--might be the right choice?

Full post as published by Balkinization on November 03, 2008 (boomark / email).