Idaho Statesman endorses Obama

In Idaho's early years, it was something of a swing state, casting its electoral votes sometimes for men like Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt and sometimes for men like Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge. Since Harry Truman won Idaho in 1948, however, Idaho has gone Democratic but one time, and that was in Lyndon Johnson's landslide victory in 1964 against Barry Goldwater. Honestly, there is no reason to believe that John McCain will not have Idaho in his column in two weeks. Even so, Boise's newspaper, The Idaho Statesman, following the example of other Republican-leaning newspapers, such as the Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News, Houston Chronicle, and the Salt Lake Tribune, has endorsed Barack Obama for president:

This is not an obvious choice for a newspaper in a historically Republican state . . . . But we have to think about what's best for our nation, which is facing challenging and confusing times that call for even-tempered, clear-minded leadership. When the partisanship of this election finally subsidies, Obama is the man who can reach reasoned conclusions, reach across the political divides, and reach out to the common American.