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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| FT backs Obama as 'better choice' president | FT backs Obama as 'better choice' president |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| The Financial Times has thrown its weight behind a second term in the White House for Barack Obama, endorsing the incumbent as "the better choice" for a country still struggling to recover from the economic crisis. | The Financial Times has thrown its weight behind a second term in the White House for Barack Obama, endorsing the incumbent as "the better choice" for a country still struggling to recover from the economic crisis. |
| While bemoaning a lacklustre campaign in which both candidates displayed "a poverty of ambition", the British newspaper on Monday cited the president's handling of the recent east coast storm as an illustration of why he, rather than Mitt Romney, deserved Americans' votes. | While bemoaning a lacklustre campaign in which both candidates displayed "a poverty of ambition", the British newspaper on Monday cited the president's handling of the recent east coast storm as an illustration of why he, rather than Mitt Romney, deserved Americans' votes. |
| "As in his response to hurricane Sandy, Mr Obama has shown that purposeful government can be part of the solution rather than the problem," it remarked. "Four years on from the financial crisis, with extreme inequality an affront to the American dream, there remains a need for intelligent, reformist governance. Mr Obama, his presidency defined by the economic crisis, looks the better choice." | "As in his response to hurricane Sandy, Mr Obama has shown that purposeful government can be part of the solution rather than the problem," it remarked. "Four years on from the financial crisis, with extreme inequality an affront to the American dream, there remains a need for intelligent, reformist governance. Mr Obama, his presidency defined by the economic crisis, looks the better choice." |
| But the endorsement, which comes soon after similar backing from the London-based current affairs magazine the Economist, was far from ringing. While documenting some of the high points of Obama's first term – including healthcare reform, for instance, and a $787bn (£490bn) stimulus package "that saved the country from another Great Depression" – the FT also detailed several weaknesses, such as his "notably cool" stance on business. "The self-proclaimed agent of change," it said, "has at crucial points failed to exercise leadership." | But the endorsement, which comes soon after similar backing from the London-based current affairs magazine the Economist, was far from ringing. While documenting some of the high points of Obama's first term – including healthcare reform, for instance, and a $787bn (£490bn) stimulus package "that saved the country from another Great Depression" – the FT also detailed several weaknesses, such as his "notably cool" stance on business. "The self-proclaimed agent of change," it said, "has at crucial points failed to exercise leadership." |
| But the FT shows little ambivalence towards Obama's opponent. While commenting that Romney appears "a man comfortable with exercising executive power", it noted a "needlessly belligerent" foreign policy and, more importantly, it said, an economic strategy that raised as many questions as it answered. | But the FT shows little ambivalence towards Obama's opponent. While commenting that Romney appears "a man comfortable with exercising executive power", it noted a "needlessly belligerent" foreign policy and, more importantly, it said, an economic strategy that raised as many questions as it answered. |
| "[Romney] … has gone through so many contortions to win his party's nomination that it is hard to see how he would govern in practice. His wishlist includes an aspiration to raise Pentagon spending by a fifth while cutting everyone's taxes and still somehow balancing the books. Such fiscal alchemy is an exercise in evasion, not a recipe for sustainable economic recovery." | "[Romney] … has gone through so many contortions to win his party's nomination that it is hard to see how he would govern in practice. His wishlist includes an aspiration to raise Pentagon spending by a fifth while cutting everyone's taxes and still somehow balancing the books. Such fiscal alchemy is an exercise in evasion, not a recipe for sustainable economic recovery." |
| What the papers say | What the papers say |
| The Economist (for Obama) | The Economist (for Obama) |
| "A man who once personified hope and centrism set a new low by unleashing attacks on Mitt Romney even before the first Republican primary. Yet elections are about choosing somebody to run a country. And this choice turns on two questions: how good a president has Mr Obama been, especially on the main issues of the economy and foreign policy? And can America really trust the ever-changing Mitt Romney to do a better job? On that basis, the Democrat narrowly deserves to be re-elected … For all his businesslike intentions, Mr Romney has an economic plan that works only if you don't believe most of what he says. That is not a convincing pitch for a chief executive. And for all his shortcomings, Mr Obama has dragged America's economy back from the brink of disaster, and has made a decent fist of foreign policy. So this newspaper would stick with the devil it knows, and re-elect him." | "A man who once personified hope and centrism set a new low by unleashing attacks on Mitt Romney even before the first Republican primary. Yet elections are about choosing somebody to run a country. And this choice turns on two questions: how good a president has Mr Obama been, especially on the main issues of the economy and foreign policy? And can America really trust the ever-changing Mitt Romney to do a better job? On that basis, the Democrat narrowly deserves to be re-elected … For all his businesslike intentions, Mr Romney has an economic plan that works only if you don't believe most of what he says. That is not a convincing pitch for a chief executive. And for all his shortcomings, Mr Obama has dragged America's economy back from the brink of disaster, and has made a decent fist of foreign policy. So this newspaper would stick with the devil it knows, and re-elect him." |
| The New York Times (for Obama) | The New York Times (for Obama) |
| "President Obama has shown a firm commitment to using government to help foster growth. He has formed sensible budget policies that are not dedicated to protecting the powerful, and has worked to save the social safety net to protect the powerless. Mr Obama has impressive achievements despite the implacable wall of refusal erected by congressional Republicans so intent on stopping him that they risked pushing the nation into depression, held its credit rating hostage, and hobbled economic recovery. Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, has gotten this far with a guile that allows him to say whatever he thinks an audience wants to hear. But he has tied himself to the ultraconservative forces that control the Republican party and embraced their policies, including reckless budget cuts and 30-year-old, discredited trickle-down ideas. Voters may still be confused about Mr Romney's true identity, but they know the Republican party, and a Romney administration would reflect its agenda. Mr Romney's choice of Paul Ryan as his running mate says volumes about that." | "President Obama has shown a firm commitment to using government to help foster growth. He has formed sensible budget policies that are not dedicated to protecting the powerful, and has worked to save the social safety net to protect the powerless. Mr Obama has impressive achievements despite the implacable wall of refusal erected by congressional Republicans so intent on stopping him that they risked pushing the nation into depression, held its credit rating hostage, and hobbled economic recovery. Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, has gotten this far with a guile that allows him to say whatever he thinks an audience wants to hear. But he has tied himself to the ultraconservative forces that control the Republican party and embraced their policies, including reckless budget cuts and 30-year-old, discredited trickle-down ideas. Voters may still be confused about Mr Romney's true identity, but they know the Republican party, and a Romney administration would reflect its agenda. Mr Romney's choice of Paul Ryan as his running mate says volumes about that." |
| The Los Angeles Times (for Obama) | The Los Angeles Times (for Obama) |
| "The most troubling aspect of Romney's candidacy is that we still don't know what his principles are. Is he the relatively moderate Republican who was governor of Massachusetts, the "severely conservative" one on display in the GOP primaries or the more reasonable-sounding fellow who reappeared at the presidential debates? His modulating positions on his own tax plan, healthcare reform, financial regulation, Medicare, immigration and the national safety net add to the impression that the only thing he really stands for is his own election. Voters face a momentous choice in November between two candidates offering sharply different prescriptions for what ails the country. Obama's recalls the successful formula of the 1990s, when the government raised taxes and slowed spending to close the deficit. The alternative offered by Romney would neglect the country's infrastructure and human resources for the sake of yet another tax cut and a larger defence budget than even the Pentagon is seeking. The Times urges voters to re-elect Obama." | "The most troubling aspect of Romney's candidacy is that we still don't know what his principles are. Is he the relatively moderate Republican who was governor of Massachusetts, the "severely conservative" one on display in the GOP primaries or the more reasonable-sounding fellow who reappeared at the presidential debates? His modulating positions on his own tax plan, healthcare reform, financial regulation, Medicare, immigration and the national safety net add to the impression that the only thing he really stands for is his own election. Voters face a momentous choice in November between two candidates offering sharply different prescriptions for what ails the country. Obama's recalls the successful formula of the 1990s, when the government raised taxes and slowed spending to close the deficit. The alternative offered by Romney would neglect the country's infrastructure and human resources for the sake of yet another tax cut and a larger defence budget than even the Pentagon is seeking. The Times urges voters to re-elect Obama." |
| New York Daily News (for Romney) | New York Daily News (for Romney) |
| "No, Romney's not perfect. His overall immigration policy falls below comprehensive reform, and he's no friend of gun control. But, under these circumstances, growing the economy takes precedence. Offering a rosy vision of a country already on the rise, Obama argues that he would lead a resurgence by staying the course. He posits that spending in areas such as education and clean energy would be beneficial, and he sees raising taxes on high-income earners as key to "balanced" deficit reduction. Each on its own is attractive, but the whole comes up short. | "No, Romney's not perfect. His overall immigration policy falls below comprehensive reform, and he's no friend of gun control. But, under these circumstances, growing the economy takes precedence. Offering a rosy vision of a country already on the rise, Obama argues that he would lead a resurgence by staying the course. He posits that spending in areas such as education and clean energy would be beneficial, and he sees raising taxes on high-income earners as key to "balanced" deficit reduction. Each on its own is attractive, but the whole comes up short. |
| "The presidential imperative of the times is to energise the economy and get deficits under control to empower the working and middle classes to again enjoy the fruits of an ascendant America. | "The presidential imperative of the times is to energise the economy and get deficits under control to empower the working and middle classes to again enjoy the fruits of an ascendant America. |
| "So the News is compelled to stand with Romney." | "So the News is compelled to stand with Romney." |
| The Des Moines Register – the biggest newspaper in swing-state Iowa (for Romney) | The Des Moines Register – the biggest newspaper in swing-state Iowa (for Romney) |
| "American voters are deeply divided about this race. The Register's editorial board, as it should, had a vigorous debate over this endorsement. Our discussion repeatedly circled back to the nation's single most important challenge: pulling the economy out of the doldrums, getting more Americans back in the workforce in meaningful jobs with promising futures, and getting the federal government on a track to balance the budget in a bipartisan manner that the country demands. Which candidate could forge the compromises in Congress to achieve these goals? When the question is framed in those terms, Mitt Romney emerges the stronger candidate … Barack Obama rocketed to the presidency from relative obscurity with a theme of hope and change. A different reality has marked his presidency. His record on the economy in the past four years does not suggest he would lead in the direction the nation must go in the next four years. Voters should give Mitt Romney a chance to correct the nation's fiscal course and to implode the partisan gridlock that has shackled Washington and the rest of America – with the understanding that he would face the same assessment in four years if he does not succeed." | "American voters are deeply divided about this race. The Register's editorial board, as it should, had a vigorous debate over this endorsement. Our discussion repeatedly circled back to the nation's single most important challenge: pulling the economy out of the doldrums, getting more Americans back in the workforce in meaningful jobs with promising futures, and getting the federal government on a track to balance the budget in a bipartisan manner that the country demands. Which candidate could forge the compromises in Congress to achieve these goals? When the question is framed in those terms, Mitt Romney emerges the stronger candidate … Barack Obama rocketed to the presidency from relative obscurity with a theme of hope and change. A different reality has marked his presidency. His record on the economy in the past four years does not suggest he would lead in the direction the nation must go in the next four years. Voters should give Mitt Romney a chance to correct the nation's fiscal course and to implode the partisan gridlock that has shackled Washington and the rest of America – with the understanding that he would face the same assessment in four years if he does not succeed." |
| The Houston Chronicle – the biggest daily newspaper in Texas (for Romney) | The Houston Chronicle – the biggest daily newspaper in Texas (for Romney) |
| "President Obama's deeds have failed to match his words, much less his specific vows to cut the national debt by half and bring the nation's unemployment rate to 6%. As Texans, it is a particular vexation that this president's attitude toward the interests of our state has occasionally bordered on contempt, particularly in decisions relating to the Nasa budget and the energy sector. The hurtful symbol of this attitude of insensitivity to Texans' feelings was the administration's choice to deny Space City's bid to become home to one of the retired space shuttles. We do not believe four more years on the same plodding course toward economic recovery is the best path forward for Texas or the nation. And so we endorse the Republican team, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, in the belief that they can do better by Texas and the nation." | "President Obama's deeds have failed to match his words, much less his specific vows to cut the national debt by half and bring the nation's unemployment rate to 6%. As Texans, it is a particular vexation that this president's attitude toward the interests of our state has occasionally bordered on contempt, particularly in decisions relating to the Nasa budget and the energy sector. The hurtful symbol of this attitude of insensitivity to Texans' feelings was the administration's choice to deny Space City's bid to become home to one of the retired space shuttles. We do not believe four more years on the same plodding course toward economic recovery is the best path forward for Texas or the nation. And so we endorse the Republican team, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, in the belief that they can do better by Texas and the nation." |
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