https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2020/oct/25/editorial-trump-for-president-inslee-for-governor
As national Election Day approaches every two years, we expect newspapers and other news media to endorse certain candidates and predict a dire future if the disfavored candidates win. But do we go back – does anybody go back – and compare the editorial predictions with the reality a year or two or four after the election is over? Shouldn’t we consider whether the editorial writers at our preferred news sources turn out to be prescient or just full of hot air and wishful thinking?
Today I came across the following editorial from the Spokane, Washington daily newspaper, dated October 28, 2020, in which the paper’s editorial board reluctantly endorsed Donald Trump for a second term. The Biden-Trump part of the editorial is just a few paragraphs long, and I recommend reading all of it. A number of personality and policy concerns are voiced, including the likely economic impact of Biden spending programs. (Do those programs have anything to do with this past year’s spike in inflation?)
Here are a few excerpts:
“Donald Trump is a bully and a bigot. He is symptomatic of a widening partisan divide in the country…
“He panders to racists and prevents sensible immigration reform in a nation built on immigrant labor and intellect. He tweets conspiracy theories…
“Biden might win on personality and comity, but his policies would strike at the economic well-being of the country. He favors massive growth in government and a historic increase in federal spending…
To afford it all, Biden and a Democrat-controlled Congress would have to impose unprecedented tax increases or accept catastrophic deficit spending…
“This is an election that pits a wretched human being whose policies and instincts for helping America thrive are generally correct against a doddering, doting uncle who would hand out gifts the nation can’t afford in order to win people’s love….”