Clinton picks up newspaper endorsements in Texas, Florida

By Dan Merica



Hillary Clinton got a boost from three large newspapers on Friday in her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The Tampa Bay Times, Dallas Morning News and Houston Chronicle published editorials that lauded Clinton's record and stances on issues, helping a Clinton campaign that is trying to focus more on March voting states after losing the New Hampshire primary.

"Democrats should vote for her March 1. She's a better choice than another long-shot liberal senator, her surging rival Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont," wrote the Dallas Morning News editorial board. "A better choice not because he's too liberal to win in November, though he is. She's better because over her lifetime, Clinton has learned to temper her idealism without losing it."

Likewise, the Tampa Bay Times editorial board writes that Clinton, "has the skill and experience to appeal to general election voters and build on President Barack Obama's record."

In backing Clinton, the Florida paper also slighted Sanders. "There is no indication Sanders is prepared to effectively protect the United States from terrorists or manage the complicated relationships this nation must nurture around the world," they write.

The Houston Chronicle editorial board, a paper that endorsed then-Sen. Barack Obama over Clinton in 2008, wrote that because of energy and foreign policy, the paper feels "that Clinton would be a better president than the senator from Vermont."

None of the newspaper endorsements were totally ringing, however.

"Clinton has made mistakes," wrote the Dallas Morning News board. "She owed America a faster apology and still owes a clearer explanation for why she installed her own email server. The tragic and fatal failures in Benghazi happened under her watch. Her judgment in foreign affairs hasn't been flawless."

The Tampa Bay Times argues Clinton "is an imperfect candidate with political baggage that would sink most other politicians."

And the Chronicle knocked Clinton, describing the former secretary of state as "a politician with so much baggage that even Southwest Airlines would start charging fees."

Clinton's campaign has stepped up their focus on March 1 states since their candidate lost the New Hampshire primary earlier this week. The campaign is dispatching more staffers to those states and have started to tell reporters that the nomination will be won in March, not February.