South Dakota’s Largest Newspaper Endorses Hillary Clinton

The editorial board of South Dakota’s largest newspaper, the Argus Leader, announced today its endorsement of Sen. Hillary Clinton for president.

It was during her interview at the Argus Leader that Clinton mentioned that RFK in 1968 and Bill Clinton in 1992 campaigned until June.

I’ve copied the editorial board’s statement from today’s ArgusLeader.com and pasted it below:

May 30, 2008

Editorial: Clinton is top candidate for Dems

Editorial Board
Argus Leader

For the first time in memory, every state will play a role in choosing a nominee for the nation's highest office.

Some of those parts are small, but not ours: as one of the last two primary elections, South Dakota Democrats suddenly and improbably find themselves in a starring role.

That's an unlikely turn of events, as our state has improbably become a battleground in the long, hard race between two Senators seeking a spot at the top of the Democratic ticket: Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Clinton of New York.

The process feels similar at times, but the goal of a primary election is different from the race voters will decide in November. Our endorsement also is different. We will judge the candidates in this fall's general election when that time comes.

Obama could certainly become one of those candidates in the days ahead - at the time of this writing, his mathematical advantage is considerable. His appeal also is clear, and his campaign has been strong.

But Clinton is the strongest Democratic candidate for South Dakota.

Her mastery of complex policy detail is broad and deep, and her experience as a senator and former first lady matches that.

Measured against her opponent, Clinton is philosophically more moderate. That is likely a good thing for South Dakota.

Clinton's energy policy is forward thinking and wise. She advocates a broad federal research initiative to help solve our looming oil crisis. It's a plan that would join university researchers, private industry and individual inventors behind a common goal.

Is ethanol part of the answer? Clinton believes it is but not necessarily corn ethanol.

That is not precisely the answer South Dakota wants to hear. Corn-based ethanol has been a boon for farmers here. But the simple fact is that she probably is correct. Advances in cellulosic ethanol technologies could render corn ethanol obsolete and wasteful. Happily, South Dakota is poised to be a major player in the push to experiment with other kinds of ethanol.

Clinton has demonstrated a real commitment to Native American issues and will have visited several South Dakota reservations before the race is over. Clinton is precisely correct when she says that people outside the region have a poor understanding of the troubling trends on our reservations. Federal attention could help. That includes but is not limited to higher-ranking posts in the federal bureaucracy.

Her truly universal health care plan would be welcomed by thousands of South Dakotans. Even on reservations, where health care is nominally universal already, such a plan would be welcome. The federal government would never be allowed to subject everyday Americans to the kind of care Native Americans living on reservations routinely receive.

Obama is justifiably credited as a powerful speaker, but Clinton holds her own easily. As those who have attended her South Dakota rallies can attest, she is quick on her feet and energetic. She frames her ideas clearly in speeches and answers questions with genuine directness.

Her resilience and determination never should be questioned. She has met or overcome every challenge or roadblock in her way, and there have been many. Her determination to carry the nomination process through to its real conclusion has perhaps earned her a grudging respect from those who would never support her.

Clinton might not win this race. In fact, it's a long shot. But whatever some might say, the race is not over, and her name is on the ballot. Win or lose, she's also the best Democratic candidate for South Dakota.

Tabloid Journalism At Its Finest

In an interview with the editorial board of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader today, Hillary Clinton commented that people had been trying to push her out of the Democratic race since Iowa. When asked why, she replied that she didn’t know. She mentioned that Bill Clinton had not wrapped up his campaign in 1992 until the middle of June and that Robert Kennedy was still on the trail in June at the time of his assassination.

In good tabloid style, the media immediately seized on Clinton’s reference to Bobby Kennedy’s death to twist and distort a comment intended only to emphasize that the duration of the 2008 Democratic primary has not been unprecedented.

In response to the media’s attempted smears, Clinton’s campaign spokesperson Mo Elleithee said:

“She {Clinton} was simply referencing her husband in 1992 and Bobby Kennedy in 1968 as historic examples of the nominating process going well into the summer. Any reading into beyond that would be inaccurate.

Later on, speaking on her own behalf, Clinton elaborated:

"Earlier today I was discussing the democratic primary history and in the course of that discussion mentioned the campaigns that both my husband and Senator Kennedy waged in California in June in 1992 and 1968. And I was referencing those to make the point that we have had nomination primary contests that go into June that's a historic fact. The Kennedy's have been much on my mind for the last days because of Senator Kennedy."

"I regret that if my referencing that moment of trauma for our entire nation - particularly for that family - was in any way offensive," Clinton continued. "I certainly had no intention of that whatsoever. My view is that we have to look to the past and to our leaders who have inspired us and give us a lot to live up to and I'm honored to hold Senator Kennedy's seat in the United States Senate in the state of New York. And have the highest regard for the entire Kennedy family."

Her statement makes sense; the Clintons’ long-time friendship with the Kennedy family has remained strong despite Ted Kennedy’s recent endorsement of Barack Obama.

But the eagerness displayed by the media to seize on yet another opportunity to demonize Hillary Clinton is inexplicable. Perhaps someday we’ll know why the better-qualified candidate in this race was continuously vilified while the least qualified candidate was eagerly swept along to his coronation.

Watch Clinton’s interview with the Argus Leader here.