Opinion: Breaking News: John McCain the pick of S. Carolina’s largest paper
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
The State, the largest and most respected newspaper in South Carolina, tonight endorsed John McCain for the Republican presidential nomination.
The newspaper’s enthusiastic backing continues a growing string of endorsements that have helped revive the Arizona senator’s once-flagging campaign: the Des Moines Register, the Boston Globe, Manchester Union Leader and virtually all the other newspapers of New Hampshire, where he won the GOP primary last Tuesday after fighting back for many months after he was written off as finished.
Headlined ‘John McCain clearly the best in GOP primary,’ The State’s unequivocal editorial notes how other GOP candidates such as Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney have fled the state to concentrate their political and financial efforts elsewhere. Fred Thompson, the newspaper said, ...
‘seems to be running in this first-in-the-South primary just to say he did.’ And it adds, ‘Ron Paul keeps on being Ron Paul, former nominee of the Libertarian Party.’
The paper calls Mike Huckabee ‘an exciting newcomer who shows a wonderful ability to connect with voters’ concerns, and Republicans could do far worse than to choose him. But his utter lack of knowledge of foreign affairs is unsettling.’
Then the newspaper continues about McCain:
‘The value of his experience is multiplied by his integrity and independence. He is a slave to no ideology or faction. Not only will he work with anyone who wants to do the right thing anytime, he is usually the driving force at the head of coalitions to get the job done — from the Gang of 14 that broke Senate gridlock and paved the way for the confirmation of conservative judges to his principled leadership on campaign finance reform. He knew the political risk he took leading the quest for a comprehensive solution to illegal immigration, but he believed securing our borders was too important a priority not to try. He is deeply respected by his colleagues in both parties, despite the fact that, as he jokes, he has never sought the “Miss Congeniality” title. No one is as likely as he to fight, expose and defeat waste, fraud or corruption.
Experience, certainly. Integrity, even more so. But John McCain’s most conspicuous virtue is courage. He is a brave and tough man who unlike some candidates has no need to bluster, but is able to speak with humility and generosity to those with whom he disagrees. A McCain presidency would do much to restore confidence in American leadership, at home and abroad.’
Noting the 71-year-old Navy flyer’s nearly six years of torture and imprisonment in Vietnam, The State adds: ‘He evinces a wisdom born in pain, a confidence earned in many battles. When others despair, John McCain knows he has seen worse, and keeps striding forward.’
The paper also praises McCain for his vision and persistence in pushing for the current military policy in Iraq. ‘John McCain has shown more clearly than anyone on the American political scene today that he loves his country,’ the newspaper says, ‘and would never mislead or dishonor it. He is almost unique in his determination to do what is right, whatever the cost. And he usually has a clear vision of what’s right.’
Other than that, The State’s editorial is hesitant about its choice of McCain. Then, in a separate and rather unusual video, The State’s editorial page editor, Brad Warthen, explains the board’s choice, revealing that the newspaper now regrets its endorsement of George W. Bush in the hotly-contested GOP primary of 2000 and believes that had McCain been elected president then instead, many of the ensuing years’ mistakes could have been avoided.
-- Andrew Malcolm