Mitt Romney and President Obama got newspaper endorsements in two key swing states this morning -- in Florida and Colorado.
Romney won the endorsement of the Orlando Sentinel, sitting smack dab in the swing I-4 corridor. Even more impressive for Romney, he won over an editorial board that sided with Obama in 2008. The searing editorial reads like a gut punch to Obama.
Obama, on the other hand, won the endorsement of The Denver Post in the all-important Western swing state of Colorado, which, of late, has been tied but trending slightly toward Romney. The Post also endorsed Obama in 2008.
At first glance, the bigger news is that the Sentinel flipped its endorsement. And that's true, as tallies of endorsements go (and the significance of newspaper editorials can be debated with newspapers dwindling, etc.)
But both endorsements speak to a broader point. They highlight good examples of how the president’s record can be spun, and that at the end of the day it's a small number of ex-Obama supporters who are likely going to determine this election.
There is undoubtedly going to be erosion of Obama’s support from 2008. And how 2008 Obama voters feel about this president is what the election hinges on.
Some are going to side with the Sentinel – that Obama had four years and even with Democratic majorities couldn’t find a way to work with the other side to reduce the deficit.
Some are going to side with the Denver Post, that Obama faced a huge hole, did what he could, the nation is heading in the right direction because of his policies, but that Republicans did everything they could to stand in his way, and Romney’s policies would be bad for the country and are the wrong approach.
Whichever candidate wins that argument -- with ex-Obama supporters -- is going to win the election.
