Editor's statement on YES! Weekly endorsements

Part II of our 2008 election endorsements hit the streets today, focusing on national and state elections. Because our coverage area includes two counties, three cities and a many more towns and small municipalities, we were faced with the daunting task of studying dozens of contests, from county commissioners all the way up to the US Senate. Because we didn't want to spread our coverage too thin, we were forced to eliminate judicial races, save for the Supreme Court election. And careful readers may have discerned another omission in our endorsement issue:
We did not make an endorsement for president of the United States.



This omission was not one decided upon lightly.
We understand the import of this presidential election, the things leading up to it and the ramifications of the outcome. We realize that for the first time in 30 years, North Carolina is in play and that the candidates have been highly visible here in our coverage area. And we acknowledge the strong feelings that voters have for — and against — each candidate.
That last bit has something to do with our decision.
Like a lot of organizations, our staff is divided politically. We come from all parts of the country, different backgrounds and varied life experiences; we each bring to the table different viewpoints and stances.
And on the issue of McCain vs. Obama, we could find no common ground.
We considered the option of making cases for each candidate in our pages, but in the end we felt that this spectacular omission was the best way to illustrate the strain our nation feels on the eve of this election.
Was it a cop-out? Maybe, but we’re hardly alone in our silence on this year’s presidential election. In the alt-weekly world, papers in the Village Voice Media chain have not run endorsement issues for years. Locally, the Greensboro News & Record has declined to endorse a presidential candidate this year. Neither did USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and hundreds of other daily and weekly publications.
That is not to say we haven’t been covering the campaigns for the last two years — we’ve run thousands of words on the process and, frankly, we’re exhausted from the race. And we are still a paper with a decidedly political bent, as evidenced by our careful endorsements of the bulk of the Guilford and Forsyth tickets.
But this year, as far as the presidential race goes, you’re on your own.
Brian Clarey
Editor