Sunday, October 21, 2007
Endorsements should enlighten
Dan Radmacher
Recent columns
- Heading back to the debate in Appalachia
- Redistricting process must be taken from pols
- A shutdown remains a very real possibility
- U.S. Navy Vets case argues for campaign limits
From the RoundTable blog
Some newspapers, including this one for a time, quit calling their election endorsements "endorsements." That was too authoritarian, the thinking went. The softer "recommendations" was preferred.
This year, we've decided that linguistic tap-dancing is unnecessary. The Roanoke Times' endorsements that start running on tomorrow's editorial page will be called endorsements. (Actually, our endorsements technically started last Sunday on the New River Forum page in Current; more endorsements appear there today.)
Calling them recommendations did nothing to change the belief by some readers that the newspaper has no business making such electoral suggestions.
Despite the fact that the endorsements are a product of the editorial page, decided by an editorial board that is completely separate from the news-gathering and reporting function of this newspaper, some believe the very process of endorsing candidates taints the news coverage.
All we can do about that notion is continue our never-ending efforts to educate readers about the distinction between news and editorial, and how seriously we take the wall that separates the two.
To illustrate, we're endorsing a candidate in one race who has rarely even been mentioned in news coverage.
That endorsement will illustrate another point: We don't endorse the candidates we believe have the best chance of winning. We endorse the candidates we believe would govern best if elected.
We come to that conclusion by studying the records of the candidates (those who have one, anyway) and by meeting with them individually.
Those interviews can be extremely illuminating. They give a sense of the candidate's character, candidness, intelligence and drive.
We interviewed candidates for the General Assembly, county boards of supervisors, sheriff offices and school boards. Some candidates stood out for their earnestness, others for their verbosity. Some stood out for their depth of knowledge about the workings of local or state government. Others, to put it as kindly as possible, did not.
It was a lengthy and time-consuming process involving nearly 60 candidates. But it was worth the time and effort.
Whether readers agree with our endorsement decisions or not, I hope they take some value away from the insights we gleaned from these meetings and other research.
While we naturally believe the commonwealth and its localities would be better governed if voters followed our recommendations, we know that every person brings different values and priorities into the voting booth.
These endorsements are just one more piece in the puzzle that will help voters make informed decisions.
All these candidates deserve our thanks. This great experiment in self-governance is possible only because of the willingness of people like them to put their names on the ballot.
Running for office takes an incredible amount of time away from family and business obligations. It takes money, or the willingness to ask strangers for money. Candidates risk mudslinging and ridicule.
All for the opportunity for jobs -- many of them part-time -- that generally don't pay that well and subject the holder to unrelenting criticism.
Some candidates, it's true, are driven by blinding ego or lust for power. But most of the people we've talked to the past few weeks seem genuinely driven by a desire to make a difference.
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Next year, The Roanoke Times will join with the other newspapers owned by our parent company, Landmark Communications, in ceasing to endorse in the presidential election.
While our endorsements in local, county, state and congressional races are based on personal interviews, independent research and an oftentimes lengthy history with the candidates, we bring less of an advantage to presidential endorsements.
We will continue to weigh in editorially on the actions, policies and proposals of presidential candidates, and, of course, of presidents.
Radmacher is the editorial page editor of The Roanoke Times.
