Democrat & Chronicle Endorsement Surprise

Like others in the local community, I was pretty surprised to read the D&C endorsements of both Maggie Brooks and Bill Taylor.

I have always thought that the D&C Editorial Board endorses GOP candidates who appear to be "sure things". That way, they can point to endorsements of Republicans to refute charges of bias. Using that analysis, Maggie was a likely endorsement, since it's fairly clear she will be re-elected. The Taylor-Doorley race appeared close, however. Plus, the paper had taken Taylor to task for what was deemed an unfair  campaign ad.

This leads to one of two conclusions. One, the D&C figures Taylor is going to win so they may as well endorse him. The other is that Doorley's recent comments in the D&C interview and on the Lonsberry show (where she suggested the DA job was a "stepping-stone") pushed some of the D&C editorialists over the edge.

There is one other possibility. The D&C, like all the left-leaning organizations in town, is sick of losing. Maybe they have decided it's time for Joe Morelle to go. They may figure that if Morelle loses the DA seat, on top of all the other Democrat losses he's presided over, he'll be finished as Democrat County Chairman. They may believe that their endorsement will push Taylor over the top and Morelle out the door.

I don't know if that's their plan or if a Taylor win will finish Morelle. But as a Republican, I certainly hope Joe doesn't go!

Random Thoughts

I've been away quite a while. I'm not sure anyone is still there. I'm going to make a concerted effort to post on a regular basis in the next few months. There has been a lot to write about but I just haven't had the time.

A couple quick takes:

I don't think anyone has turned his Presidency more into a permanent campaign than Barak Obama. Moreover, can you recall a President so bereft of original ideas that he has resorted to taking up whatever tripe the mob wants him to? For example, his pander to the 99 percenters over college loan debt is amazing. If this guy gets re-elected, our country has really lost its way.

Of course, one reason he could win is the GOP field. Talk about the seven dwarfs! Or is it eight or nine? It doesn't much matter, they don't add up to one solid candidate. Frankly, none of them impress me as serious, plain talkers. If Mitt Romney should become President, it might be bad news for the GOP. He strikes me as a caricature of a politician and a moderate. If he tries to govern like that (like the first George Bush) the democrats will be back in power in no time. I really would have preferred Chris Christie.

Meanwhile, is there a local election? I can't recall hearing or seeing a campaign ad for County Executive. If not for the D&C campaigning against the GOP's County candidates, the Democrats would have no campaign at all. They actually rehashed the Robutrad story last week......I mean, come on, man!

Finally, the local sports scene is hopeful for the first time in a long time. The Bills are looking pretty good. The new owner of the Sabres and Amerks is serious about winning and Syracuse actually has a shot at having football and basketball teams in the top 25 in the same year for the first time in decades. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.