Not a huge surprise, really. After all, In 2004, the magazine endorsed John Kerry, albeit with less enthusiasm. An excerpt-
The Economist does not have a vote, but if it did, it would cast it for Mr Obama. We do so wholeheartedly: the Democratic candidate has clearly shown that he offers the better chance of restoring America’s self-confidence. But we acknowledge it is a gamble. Given Mr Obama’s inexperience, the lack of clarity about some of his beliefs and the prospect of a stridently Democratic Congress, voting for him is a risk. Yet it is one America should take, given the steep road ahead.
I think that about sums up the attitude among some voters right now. It’s not that we’re suddenly entering a new liberal age or even that voters believe Democrats will be able to fix the screw ups of the last 8 years. It’s that the other side is infinitely worse. One issue I have with the endorsement, though, is the magazine’s summation of Obama’s economic record-
Our main doubts about Mr Obama have to do with the damage a muddle-headed Democratic Congress might try to do to the economy…Worryingly, he has a poor record of defying his party’s baronies, especially the unions. His advisers insist that Mr Obama is too clever to usher in a new age of over-regulation, that he will stop such nonsense getting out of Congress, that he is a political chameleon who would move to the centre in Washington. But the risk remains that on economic matters the centre that Mr Obama moves to would be that of his party, not that of the country as a whole.
Ha! I am genuinely amused by this notion that Obama is too liberal on the economic front. Are we talking about the same guy? Make no mistake, Obama supports free trade and his economic stance isn’t all that different from many Republicans (and Democrats). That’s not to say that his policies will be more beneficial to a majority of Americans but to depict the Democrats as a group of runaway leftists isn’t accurate. As long as we’re led by the Democrats and Republicans, sadly, the debate around globalization and free trade will remain stagnant.
-Indira
