And there goes the Economist

[drwex]

Really not a good week for Romney. Two days of Obama and Gov. Christie heaping praise on each other, then the FT shoots one of its own, and now The Economist has endorsed Obama.

It has to be one of the most tepid endorsements ever, but it's another sign that the financial camp is starting to choose sides, against one of its own. I don't know if they're smelling defeat for Romney and choosing to side with the winner they see as inevitable, or whether they really believe their endorsements matter. Either way it's another uptick for Obama.

ETA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DZG9Q0sdzfw

I had forgotten that before Sandy knocked everything else out of the headlines, Colin Powell had gone on CBS's "This Morning" to endorse Obama. Just to make sure people haven't forgotten, he's now given Obama permission to use the endorsement in a campaign ad.

Comments

[trowa-barton.livejournal.com]

It's not necessarily smell defeat. It can be logical.
1. At one point during the campaign, Ryan himself has admitted that his budget proposals are based on trickle-down economics, a concept that professionals have conceded does not work.
2. Regardless of when he left Bain Capital (still in debate), one thing is for certain: Romney hasn't run a private business in at least a decade. Since he spent a good amount of his campaign stressing his skills as a businessman, this raises questions.
3. There is still uncertainty as to how Romney's domestic plans will reduce the deficit, especially as his strategies keep changing (e.g. FEMA).
4. It's no so much endorsement so much as Obama being the lesser of two evils.

[selenite.livejournal.com]

The Economist surprises you? They endorsed Obama in 2008 and Kerry in 2004. It might be a financial mag but they're still journalists.

[drwex]

It surprises me, as people in the financial industry don't generally talk each other down. They may hate each others' guts, and backstab each other with astonishing regularity, but it's all kept inside. Once any outside factor is introduced they close ranks very fast.

I've heard off and on that people in the community were unhappy with Romney but unwilling to say anything. Now some are starting to say something. The Economist (as you can read in the endorsement) doesn't like much of anything Obama has done. It would have been easy for them to remain silent, endorsing neither. They chose not to.

[ckd]

"Many of The Economist’s readers, especially those who run businesses in America, may well conclude that nothing could be worse than another four years of Mr Obama. We beg to differ. For all his businesslike intentions, Mr Romney has an economic plan that works only if you don’t believe most of what he says. That is not a convincing pitch for a chief executive."

[trowa-barton.livejournal.com]

As someone who studied economics at the MIT Sloan School, in the end, it comes down to numbers and facts, regardless of politics.