The Des Moines, Iowa Newspaper Has Endorsed Hillary Clinton.....

[shashank]

Do you think this will have any effect in the Iowa caucuses and she'll finish stronger? Or does the endorsement of the state's significant newspaper mean that considerably any more?

[Lauro]

[Gann]

[Wilburn]

Newspapers have an incredibly privileged position.  They?re seen as neutral parties; they may have a slight tilt to one side or the other, but strive for neutrality.  That?s especially important in primaries, when candidates are being measured against their own party. They?re also thought of as "thoughtful"; they?re professional studiers of the political landscape.  They?re seen as having the time and experience to devote to finding the best candidate.  Voters know that the issues are many and complicated, and depend on reliable experts to help them understand.  And unlike celebrity endorsements or national political figures, they?re local, and can represent the local point of view. For people who are still undecided on voting day, newspapers(who usually make endorsements late in the game) are a big sway.  Independents need something to push them in one direction or another, and those advantages give newspapers the loudest voice in that push. I think this will be a big deal.  The race is so tumultuous that you can?t pick a single factor out of all of the others, but I suspect that this will be enough to guarantee Clinton a narrow edge on in the final vote.  Conversely, if she is edged out, it implies that she?s even weaker than a close second place would imply, if even a newspaper endorsement can?t put her over the top.

[halfdan]

Yes, it will have an impact From the research I've seen, newspapers select an editorial opinion that places them within the mainstream opinion of their market.  They do this, of course, to sell more papers.  So they have to find a way to put themselves in the central opinion within their market, or else they start to marginalize themselves.   Now, things have been rather fluid in Iowa leading up to the caucusses.  Folks are all looking around at each other, wondering which way to break.  They may pride themselves on being independent, but in the end, we are social animals, and they will all kind of partly want to break with the largest group, so they can feel like they've picked a winner.   I'm not sure if the Des Moines paper is the only, or the major paper in the Iowa market, although I suspect it is.  Ok, so I researched it.  http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003668121  It looks like it is a pretty influential paper(The Des Moines Register) and it came out for Clinton and McCain. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003686030   Both of these candidates, to my mind, are very middle of the road candidates.  Iowa, I think, is a middle-of-the-road state.  They take pride on their ability to influence the country and provide leadership in electoral choices.  Something has to coalesce, here.  I suspect this endorsement is fairly significant, and is based on some polling by the paper, and some serious judgement about the mood of Iowans.  This paper does not want to stray from its base, any more than politicians want to plant themselves too firmly far away from the center(if they are serious).   I'm going to make a bold pronouncement(because we'll know if I'm right in less than 3 weeks) and say this is quite significant, and suggests who may win the caucusses. They have loopy grins on their faces in Clinton and McCain headquarters in Iowa about now! Zhop 73 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[Loryn]

Personally, I don't make voting decisions based on any newspaper's endorsement but, I did see a news clip that reported that Barack Obama pointed out that this particular newspaper doesn?t have a good track record of choosing who will win the primary, I think the record was that no one they have endorsed has ever won.  If that is the case, I think this endorsement could be a very bad thing for Hillary Clinton. So based on the above, I think that the endorsement will either have little effect or have a negative effect on Ms. Clinton?s campaign in Iowa.  I don't think that people pay that much attention to state newspaper endorsements, unless they are avid followers of that paper and I don't think that many people fall under that heading.  If it was CNN or Fox News, it might be a different story. Mistral 73 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[Ervine]

At this stage I'd imagine that most everybody in Iowa has already decided who they love and hate(and Hillary always falls into one or the other). I doubt if any endorsement would change many minds now.

[Hwaeteleah]

Probably not much. At this stage I'd imagine that most everybody in Iowa has already decided who they love and hate(and Hillary always falls into one or the other). I doubt if any endorsement would change many minds now. JBENZ 73 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[blakeley]

From what I have observed over the last few years newspaper endorsements don?t mean much anymore. Back when newspapers were the primary source of information for most people they carried a good deal more weight with their endorsements, especially in a Primary Election. Most newspapers back then were clearly identified with one part or the other so it would be no surprise that the Arkansas Democrat for example endorsed a Democratic candidate. In the Primary though a newspaper endorsement could carry a lot of weight with the party faithful. Now though, most of the people who even bother to read the opinion page already have their own opinions and don?t need the slightest bit of help from a newspaper. Sources: my opinion KingofRandomCrap 73 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[watson]

Newspaper endorsements are huge Newspapers have an incredibly privileged position.  They?re seen as neutral parties; they may have a slight tilt to one side or the other, but strive for neutrality.  That?s especially important in primaries, when candidates are being measured against their own party. They?re also thought of as "thoughtful"; they?re professional studiers of the political landscape.  They?re seen as having the time and experience to devote to finding the best candidate.  Voters know that the issues are many and complicated, and depend on reliable experts to help them understand.  And unlike celebrity endorsements or national political figures, they?re local, and can represent the local point of view. For people who are still undecided on voting day, newspapers(who usually make endorsements late in the game) are a big sway.  Independents need something to push them in one direction or another, and those advantages give newspapers the loudest voice in that push. I think this will be a big deal.  The race is so tumultuous that you can?t pick a single factor out of all of the others, but I suspect that this will be enough to guarantee Clinton a narrow edge on in the final vote.  Conversely, if she is edged out, it implies that she?s even weaker than a close second place would imply, if even a newspaper endorsement can?t put her over the top. PamPerdue 73 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.