Early this morning the premier right wing blog Power Line ran an “alert” of a pending online endorsement of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney by The Denver Post today at noon. And sure enough, at 12:04, The Post issued endorsements for Romney – and for Democrat Hillary Clinton. The endorsements mark the first time the Denver daily has published endorsements online, in advance of its print publication.
Dan Haley, the editorial page editor at The Post, did not immediately return a call seeking further comment. But the endorsements come two hours before Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts and the choice of many of the state’s GOP heavyweights, is set to make a campaign appearance at 2 p.m. today at the Freeway Ford auto dealership in Denver.
Two days ago, Bill Clinton appeared at the University of Denver to stump on behalf of Hillary Clinton, hours after Barack Obama energized a crowd of thousands at a rally, also on the DU campus.
Today’s Romney event, called “Change Begins With Us,” was originally scheduled to take place at the Harley Davidson motorcycle dealership in Thornton. The venue inexplicably has moved, and the candidate will now appear at Freeway Ford, at 4471 E. Evans Ave. in southeast Denver.
Meanwhile, Republican candidate Ron Paul is also in Colorado for campaign appearances today. He was scheduled to appear at Giuseppe’s Depot restaurant in downtown Colorado Springs early this afternoon.
Paul will then travel to Denver and hold a rally from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Colorado Convention Center downtown, at 700 14th St. Doors open at 5 p.m.
Here is the text of The Post’s endorsements for Romney and Clinton, which come four days before the Super Tuesday presidential caucuses in 24 states, including Colorado:
The Denver Post’s editorial board today endorsed Republican Mitt Romney and Democrat Hillary Clinton for their party’s nomination in advance of Tuesday’s Colorado caucuses.
Endorsing in a presidential primary is extremely rare for the paper, but the board decided to weigh in, considering Colorado and the West will play such an important role in the upcoming election.
The Post thinks Romney is the best choice for Republicans because he possesses “the executive acumen necessary to implement policies that produce results,” especially in the areas of health care and the economy.
For the Democrats, the board thinks Clinton is the most qualified candidate, given her long record in public life. She’s well prepared to deal with two of this country’s greatest challenges: the war in Iraq and the health insurance crisis.
Today’s endorsements also will appear in Sunday’s Perspective section of The Denver Post. This is the first time the paper has put its endorsements online in advance of print publication.
Denver’s other daily newspaper, The Rocky Mountain News, has not issued endorsements. Nor has The Colorado Springs Gazette, the state’s third largest daily newspaper. Historically the Gazette has not explicitly endorsed candidates, including in primary or general elections.
