Akron Beacon Journal First to Issue U.S. Senate Endorsement

So who do you think the paper that called Josh Mandel a "cartoon candidate" and a "Saturday Night Live skit" endorsed?

http://www.ohio.com/editorial/editorials/cartoon-candidate-1.330161

Right — Sherrod Brown.

http://www.ohio.com/editorial/editorials/for-the-u-s-senate-sherrod-brow...

It says,

Hard to miss about his first term as a senator has been his hard work and leadership, his attention to what matters for Ohioans, from manufacturing and jobs to health care and farming (the first Ohioan on the Senate Agriculture Committee in four decades).

It says he sees himself as a "champion of the middle class" and says "The portrayal has substance.

It also, correctly, dismisses the charge that he is "too liberal" as "more about slogans than anything." At a time when conservatism seems increasingly to mean utter disregard for anyone not fabulously wealthy, it's a compliment. And polls have repeatedly showed that when people are asked about typical "liberal" positions, they overwhelmingly favor them

Of course, the paper has to find a few quibbles so as not to appear "unbalanced." They complain he can sound too "protectionist" on trade questions. But that's appropriate in a climate where the pendulum has swung so far the other way. Go ask a worker whose job has gone overseas if Brown is too protectionist. And the BJ digs up some trivial campaign rhetoric from 2006. But mostly, it's an accurate description of how well Sherrod Brown has served his state — and the country.

As an addenda to the editorial, the Beacon Journal briefly takes apart Josh Mandel saying "He isn't ready for the job, referring to his "shallow positions" and his "sparse record" and suggesting he "would have done well to focus on completing a term as treasurer and then see what the political future holds. He might have started by attending Board of Deposit meetings."

That says everything that needs to be said in a nutshell. Mandel has had nearly a decade office to develop a credible resume and policy portfolio — and he hasn't. It will be interesting to see what other state papers say. I am predicting Mandel may end up with only one major newspaper endorsement — the CIncinnati Inquirer — or perhaps even none.