America, Endorsed

In one of the more quixotic endeavors this campaign, Esquire went to the trouble of endorsing (or, in some races, pointedly not endorsing) a candidate in every senate, congressional and gubernatorial race in the country.

As you might expect, the resulting Congress and statehouses lean decidedly to the left, though it was nice to see Jeff Flake and Ron Paul get a favorable nod.  The magazine also amended the article on its website to revoke its endorsement of New York congressman and NRCC chair Tom Reynolds after his performance in the Mark Foley affair.

The endorsements tend to hedge on principle and flounder a bit when it comes to consistency -- sorta' the same way politicians do.  Pork-barrel spenders the magazine opposes, for example, are decried for their earmarking habits, while pork-barrel spenders the magazine supports are praised for "serving their district."  I'm also skeptical of any publication that would declare Henry Waxman and Hillary Clinton "pillars" of good governance and political integrity.

Esquire's other endorsement in the September issue, however, is quite a bit more persuasive.