Post by Joseph M -

We have about 2 weeks until the election, and the polls are up and down - hot and cold, like a middle school crush.  However, some interesting endorsements hit the internet this past week, and Obama is looking to regain some momentum in the Monday evening debate.

Joanna Brooks, author of Book of Mormon Girl: A Memoir of an American Faith, wrote an editorial piece for CNN's Belief Blog entitled, My Take: Hard truths matter; I’m Mormon, and I’m voting for Obama.  While Joanna Brooks has written about the election before on her website, Ask Mormon Girl, this endorsement lays out clear reasons for voting for President Obama in the light of being a mother, an educator, and a Mormon.  According to her article, she has been listening for the two candidates to speak to the "hard truths."

...as a Mormon, I grew up with a healthy sense of respect for worst-case scenarios. I was raised, after all, with a religious aversion to debt and a year’s supply of canned wheat, beans and powdered milk in the garage, as instructed by LDS Church leaders. The Mormon food storage tradition isn’t about end-times-paranoia: It’s a lesson passed down from our pioneer ancestors, who knew the importance of being prepared for difficult seasons so you can do right by your family and community.

Joanna Brooks reports that she has seen that truth-telling in President Obama: "I have seen Obama work steadily, patiently through a difficult season. I have seen him face some hard truths and accept that there are no easy fixes. And I will vote to give him a second term."

I would add that I found Joanna's book in Target on Friday; I have been planning on ordering it from Amazon for some time.  (So now for a different type of endorsement: I am only a couple dozen pages into it, and I am already mesmerized by her prose and her insight.)

Also, The Salt Lake Tribune shocked everyone (or confirmed everyone's suspicions, depending on who you ask,) with their endorsement of President Obama for a second term.  Admittedly, they posted the editorial with title, "Too Many Mitts," in bold letters, while "Obama has earned another term" was positioned limply in smaller type underneath.  This may imply that the piece is more of a rejection of Mitt Romney than a whole-hearted endorsement of the president, and that might be right.  Much of the endorsement shuffles around in the junk drawer of Romney missteps, false starts, reversed positions, and political "shape-shifting," while a shorter summary of Obama's accomplishments is enumerated towards the end.  The final paragraph is telling:

Therefore, our endorsement must go to the incumbent, a competent leader who, against tough odds, has guided the country through catastrophe and set a course that, while rocky, is pointing toward a brighter day. The president has earned a second term. Romney, in whatever guise, does not deserve a first.

[caption id="attachment_2712" align="alignright" width="300"] This young man is an avid reader of the Tribune[/caption]

Regardless, this endorsement is a bold move for the Tribune, considering that Salt Lake City and its surrounding municipalities are comprised of more that a few Romney-leaning Mormons.  Although I guess we shouldn't be too surprised considering that The Salt Lake Tribune has always been kind of gangster in that it opts to retain its Old English tattoo-looking script for its logo while some newspapers create bland fonts like Escrow. 

On a side note, I am certain that the Tribune's endorsement won't stir up anger the way the Seattle Times has done here locally.  They are actually running a series of pro Rob McKenna ads for free.  McKenna is the Republican gubernatorial candidate - and you can read more about this on (where else?) the Seattle Times website.   People are not happy; I'm not happy.  I am concerned that my newspaper is sliding down the hill towards biased reporting, and I can't shake the feeling that little piece of Fox News is being delivered to my doorstep each morning.  In protest, I will cancel my subscription tomorrow.

I will end this post with one other endorsement: my own.  I received my ballot in the mail a few days ago, and I will send it in tomorrow.  This ballot was one of the easiest to complete - with only the King County Sheriff race not clear in my head.  I voted for President Obama first.  And I am excited for another four years with Obama as president.  Let's make this happen folks!

And well... if you're still undecided, just vote for somebody:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVkfNUxRh7g]