People write in from time to time asking us not to make political comments. First of all, that’s kind of absurd: we’re not holding anyone’s nose to the computer screen. Second: if any time in history demanded political comment, it’s this one. When your country is decaying rapidly on every front - cultural, social, and economic - it’s irresponsible to pretend nothing is happening. Lastly: it’s interesting how the only people making this request seem to be hard-right neoliberal market ideologues. Pretending that everything is fine and asking not to hear any contrary opinion sure doesn’t sound like a “marketplace of ideas,” does it, guys? But whatever, in the interests of comity:

WARNING: POLITICAL COMMENT

All that fuss for this: we endorse Barack Obama for President. We know his campaign has been holding out hope that we’d swing his way for some time. But seriously, a much more important endorsement came today:

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker is the latest big-name endorsement for Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, lending his gravitas in the financial world to a presidential candidate whose biggest hurdle is to convince voters he is experienced enough to be president.

“After 30 years in government, serving under five Presidents of both parties and chairing two non-partisan commissions on the Public Service, I have been reluctant to engage in political campaigns. The time has come to overcome that reluctance,” Mr. Volcker said in a statement today. “However, it is not the current turmoil in markets or the economic uncertainties that have impelled my decision. Rather, it is the breadth and depth of challenges that face our nation at home and abroad. Those challenges demand a new leadership and a fresh approach.”

He concluded: “It is only Barack Obama, in his person, in his ideas, in his ability to understand and to articulate both our needs and our hopes that provide the potential for strong and fresh leadership. That leadership must begin here in America but it can also restore needed confidence in our vision, our strength, and our purposes right around the world.”

Regardless of who you’re planning to vote for, if you’re in a primary state that votes tomorrow, be sure to make time to vote.  After the unmitigated disaster that we’ve been through over the past seven years, you don’t need a lecture from us on the importance of voting.