For the Republicans, they give the nod to McCain. For the Democrats, Clinton gets the call.
The Register is the largest paper in the state, and its endorsement is considered to be a big win for any candidate. But looking at the history of their caucus endorsements, I have no idea why.
They endorsed Bob Dole over George Bush and Paul Simon over Dukakis and Gephardt in 1988.
They offered up no endorsements in 1992.
Dole got the nod again in 1996, and Clinton ran unopposed. Given that the GOP race wasn't all that close, I'm not sure how meaningful this was, but score one for the Register nonetheless.
They endorsed Bill Bradley over Al Gore in 2000, and George W. got the call over Steve Forbes on the GOP side. That's two, but only if you think Forbes was actually a legitimate candidate in 2000.
And in our most recent election, they picked John Edwards over Dean and Kerry in 2004.
In short, there isn't a single instance of their candidate winning in a close race. Not one. And in the instances where their pick did win, it was always and only on the Republican side. And yet I promise you, over the next 24 hours people will claim this is a "huge win" for Hillary that "changes everything."
I guess my read is different. If are a Democrat who wants to come in second in Iowa and lose the national race, getting the nod from the Register is key. But if you actually want to win, well....
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