THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 24, 2008, 11:49 am
Obamacans: Prominent Republicans Line Up Behind Obama
Susan Davis reports on the presidential race.
Since Colin Powell crossed party lines to endorse Barack Obama last Sunday, a steady stream of prominent Republicans have endorsed the Illinois senator over rival John McCain.
Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld is endorsing Obama today at a press conference in Salem, N.H. Weld was a public supporter of Mitt Romney in the Republican primaries. In a statement, Weld called Obama a “once-in-a-lifetime candidate who will transform our politics and restore America’s standing in the world.”
On Thursday, former Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson endorsed Obama at the state capitol. “I think we have in Barack Obama the clear possibility of a truly great president,” he said. “I would contend that it’s the most important election of my lifetime.”
Scott McClellan, a former spokesman for President George W. Bush, also endorsed Obama Thursday. USA Today reported that McClellan told CNN in a taping to be aired this weekend that Obama has “the best chance of changing the way Washington works.”
Ken Adelman, a prominent conservative on foreign policy matters announced his support for Obama on Tuesday, telling the New Yorker that his decision was based on temperament and judgment.
Adelman called McCain “impetuous, inconsistent, and imprudent; ending up just plain weird” in his handling of the U.S. economic crisis. He also was unsettled by McCain’s choice of running mate. “Not only is Sarah Palin not close to being acceptable in high office—I would not have hired her for even a mid-level post in the arms-control agency,” Adelman wrote.
UPDATE: Add Charles Fried, a Harvard Law professor and former Solicitor General in the Reagan administration, to the list of Republicans supporting Obama. Fried’s vote for the Democratic ticket is particularly harsh, as he was associated with the McCain campaign. Fried voted absentee for Obama this week, and informed McCain campaign general counsel Trevor Potter of his decision in a letter where he stated he could not support McCain in large part because of his selection of Palin as his running mate.
October 24, 2008, 5:03 pm
Harvard Law Prof, Reagan SG, Gives Obama His Vote
Posted by Ashby Jones
LB Readers, please let us know if you hear tale of any famously liberal law profs throwing their weight behind the McCain/Palin ticket. For now, all we’ve come across is the flip-side: notable conservatives supporting Obama/Biden.
The latest: Harvard’s Charles Fried, who served as solicitor general under President Reagan and as recently as January was working on behalf of McCain, has publicly endorsed the Democratic ticket. Click here for the New Republic story written by Fried colleague Cass Sunstein.
According to TNR, in a letter to the McCain/Palin campaign, Fried asked that his name be removed from the several campaign-related committees on which he serves. In that letter, he said that chief among the reasons for his decision “is the choice of Sarah Palin at a time of deep national crisis.”
In a note to TNR, Fried, who authored the book “Order and Law: Arguing the Reagan Revolution,” later explained himself, along the way rendering a not-so-hearty endorsement of Obama.:
I admire Senator McCain and was glad to help in his campaign, and to be listed as doing so; but when I concluded that I must vote for Obama for the reason stated in my letter, I felt it wrong to appear to be recommending to others a vote that I was not prepared to cast myself. So it was more of an erasure than a public affirmation — although obviously my vote meant that I thought that Obama was preferable to McCain-Palin. I do not consider abstention a proper option.
The Fried vote follows a similar endorsement by Pepperdine law prof Douglas Kmiec, made back in March. Back in March, Kmiec told the Law Blog:
President Reagan used to tell all of us in his administration, and the public generally, that his proudest achievement was making the country feel better about itself. I believe Obama is committed to giving us reason to feel better about ourselves. I’ve seen it in the classroom. I’ve been teaching for 40 years, and have not seen a more electric and engaged atmosphere with regard to the democratic process.
