Likely meaningless, but fun

From Think Progress:

Today, Vice President Cheney’s hometown newspaper, the Casper Star-Tribune in Wyoming, endorsed Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) for president. The paper endorsed Bush-Cheney in 2004. Today’s editorial states:

The next occupant of the White House will inherit a national economy that’s collapsing and two wars our nation has been fighting for years, depleting valuable resources we need to fix a multitude of domestic problems. Far too many of our nation’s citizens live paycheck to paycheck, worried about whether they’ll have a job next week or if a medical crisis will bankrupt them.

What America needs most in these troubled times is a president who will move the country in a positive direction. The candidate who is most likely to chart a new course that will lead us to better days is Obama. Moreover, he is the best candidate for Wyoming.

The endorsement comes two days after Cheney campaigned for McCain in Casper. Thus far, at least 50 daily papers have switched from backing Bush in 2004 to supporting Obama.

I'm pretty sure Casper - Wyoming's 2nd-largest city - isn't a hotbed of elite liberalism.

I doubt that this endorsement will turn Wyoming blue, but it is a sign that all is not well with the Republican brand.

Full disclosure: I went to grade school in Casper (Park Elementary), grades 2-5 (well... 2-4 & half-a-year of 5). When I lived there it billed itself as the "Oil Capital of the Rockies" - which, even at the time, was a bit hyperbolic - Denver having the clearer claim... but the oil industry had a significant presence. I believe that presence is no longer, and that ranching & maybe hard-rock mining are dominant industries. Wikipedia suggests that "Casper is a regional center of banking and commerce".

Trivia: Part of John Wayne's 1968 film Hellfighters was filmed near Casper.

Have a nice day.