Two Cheers for the New Hampshire Union Leader's Endorsement of Biden

For the first time in over 100 years, The New Hampshire Union Leader has endorsed a Democrat for President of the United States. In an editorial titled, "Our choice is Joe Biden*", the Union Leader editorial board argues:

Mr. Trump rightly points out that the COVID-19 crisis isn’t his fault, but a true leader must own any situation that happens on their watch. We may be turning a corner with this virus, but the corner we turned is down a dark alley of record infections and deaths. Mr. Trump is a self-proclaimed expert on a wide variety of topics, but when pushed on basic topics he doesn’t want to discuss, he very quickly feigns ignorance.

Donald Trump did not create the social-media-driven political landscape we now live in, but he has weaponized it. He is a consummate linguistic takedown artist, ripping apart all comers to the delight of his fanbase but at the expense of the nation. America faces many challenges and needs a president to build this country up. This appears to be outside of Mr. Trump’s skill set.

Building this country up sits squarely within the skill set of Joseph Biden. We have found Mr. Biden to be a caring, compassionate and professional public servant. He has repeatedly expressed his desire to be a president for all of America, and we take him at his word. Joe Biden may not be the president we want, but in 2020 he is the president we desperately need. He will be a president to bring people together and right the ship of state.

For this I give the Union Leader two cheers. Bravo!!!

So why not a third?

It probably has not escaped your eye that the Union Leader's endorsement of Biden comes with an asterisk. Here is their caveat in full:

While Joe Biden is the clear choice for president, it would be a disservice to the country to send him to the White House without a backstop. We suggest splitting the ballot and electing a healthy dose of GOP senators and representatives. The best governance often comes through compromise. The civility of the Biden administration will help foster such compromise, but a blue wave would be nearly as disastrous for this country as four more years of Trump. It would result in a quagmire of big government programs that will take decades to overcome.

Well, we've had a healthy dose of Republicans in control of the Senate who have failed to rein in President Trump's worse instincts and turn a blind eye to his misdeeds up to and including the mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic which has now cost the lives of more than 225,000 Americans. Their unwillingness to extend enhanced unemployment benefits to Americans in needs is unconscionable. With very few exceptions when Trump says jump, the Republican Party asks how high. In effect, President Trump's tweets are the Republican Party platform. As such it would be entirely unsuitable to reward the Republican Party in any manner in 2020. 

While I have strong reservations about certain forces within the Democratic Party (i.e. AOC plus three) they do not represent a clear and present danger to The Republic like President Trump and an acquiescent quislings which wave the Republican banner. With this, I believe voters should elect Joe Biden to the White House give Democrats control of both Houses of Congress in 2020.