Muskegon (MI) Chronicle Endorses Obama

Last edited Sun Oct 21, 2012, 10:31 AM - Edit history (1)

This is from Friday, but not sure it was posted:

To be clear, The Chronicle Editorial Board is not endorsing the same Obama it endorsed in 2008.

The Obama we are endorsing is the man who oversaw and expanded the bailout of the auto industry that was initiated in the final weeks of the George W. Bush administration. We are endorsing the Obama who knew that bailing out an industry that provided more than 2 million industrial and related jobs and 3.6 percent of our gross national product was the right thing to do.

We are endorsing the man who stood up to naysayers in Congress, and Mitt Romney who placed his opinion, "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt," in the national spotlight, because what was on the line was more than a financial crisis, it was a way of life in Michigan that would have been wiped out, sending shock waves into every other industry and business and into government services such as police, fire and education. There's no way Michigan or the other industrial states would be in the slow, but steady recovery they are experiencing today if GM and Chrysler had been forced to liquidate.


Yes, it was costly to U.S. taxpayers, but the $62 billion auto bailout was a mere fraction of the $700 billion bank bailout, which saved fewer jobs.

We are endorsing the man who has empathy for the middle class, who understands the struggles of single parents and children who are raised by their grandparents. A man who knows what good-paying industrial jobs and their benefits mean to families.

We are endorsing the Obama who is focused on helping American students get the education they need to compete for future jobs. The Obama who touted the importance of community colleges as an affordable path to the education and training our country needs to compete.

We are endorsing the Obama who is willing to bet on the future. Yes, some funding and tax credits for green energy and battery companies have been a failure. But, this country didn't get it entirely right with other industries either. That doesn't mean you stop trying.

http://www.mlive.com/opinion/muskegon/index.ssf/2012/10/endorsement_editorial_the_coun.html