No endorsements here

by shamanic

I feel like I should clarify the Newshoggers policy on endorsements, since I've been advocating pretty heavily for Obama these last days: This blog doesn't endorse candidates, and each of us has his or her own view of what the best outcome for this election would be.

Part of my elation this week is certainly that this former Deaniac and 2000 supporter of McCain (if you're wondering what kind of doctrinaire Democrat I am) finally managed to pick a winner.

But also, talking to friends last night, someone said, "If he's elected, I can finally hold my head high as a black woman." She was absolutely kidding, but I said, "You know, that's really part of it too. I'm sick of all that, and I think having a black president would go a long way towards healing this wound that Americans are all carrying around." White and black. All of us. I could be wrong though.

It is my natural posture to advocate for the best America I can imagine. It drives me in my life and it drives me to stick with blogging more than four years after my introductory post on Simianbrain back in the fall of 2003. My colleagues here are no different, and though we won't endorse anyone as a group, I think the commentary and critiques we offer provide a wealth of insight into the larger issues at play within the modern Democratic coalition.

And what I see most strongly from our collective efforts is that we're tired of hearing the right things on the campaign trail and losing the fight when the job is to govern. Whoever wins this election would be well served to remember that.