Obama Draws Historic Newspaper Endorsements

The Chicago Tribune endorsed Barack Obama for president Friday, the first time the traditionally Republican editorial board has endorsed a Democrat for president.

Barack Obama’s hometown paper backed the Democrat’s bid despite having discouraged him from running in a 2006 editorial.

“Obama is deeply grounded in the best aspirations of this country, and we need to return to those aspirations,” the Tribune’s editorial said. “He has had the character and the will to achieve great things despite the obstacles that he faced as an unprivileged black man in the U.S.”

The Tribune joins the Los Angeles Times in endorsement history Friday. The Times endorsed Obama Friday, marking the first time since 1972 the paper has even endorsed a candidate for president, and the first time in the paper’s history it has endorsed a Democrat for president.

Another major newspaper, the Washington Post, endorsed Obama in its Friday edition.

–Michael O’Brien