The Back Pages: Candidates pen columns for Duluth News Tribune

For the second presidential election in a row, the Duluth News Tribune has convinced major candidates from both parties to make their case directly to the readers in the form of front page columns. On Monday, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton took their standard positions in arguing change against experience, while today’s edition featured Sen. John McCain pitching military strength and Gov. Mitt Romney touting his business leadership. But each candidate made sure to tailor their tune to the ears of Northern Minnesotans, as “all were asked to specifically say why Northeastern Minnesotans should give them their support.”

In 2004, the News Tribune ran columns from party nominees Sen. John Kerry and Pres. George Bush. Editor & Publisher delved into the unlikely exclusive and interviewed News Tribune Editorial Page Editor Robin Washington, who said American voters “want to hear from the persons themselves why they should be elected.”

“I’m encouraged that in both cases they didn’t talk about snowmobiling and hunting, which is what Kerry and Bush hit on,” Washington told E&P. Adding, “not that we don’t do those things, but snowmobile and hunting rights just don’t seem like the main issues the next leader of the Free World should be concerned with.”

The campaigns of Gov. Mike Huckabee and Rep. Ron Paul chose not to participate.

Continue reading for excerpts from the candidate’s columns.

Barack Obama: It’s time to stand up for change in Washington

As a Great Lakes senator, I understand the challenges that our region faces. We cannot wait any longer for universal health care, or good jobs, or living wages and pensions we can count on. We cannot wait to fix our schools, reinvest in our infrastructure, halt global warming, or end this war in Iraq.

…

In this election, it is time to stand for change.

This has been our message since the beginning of this campaign. It was our message when we were down and our message when we were up. Because we know that the only way to change this country is from the bottom up. It’s a lesson that is the legacy of a great Minnesotan, Paul Wellstone, who brought new people into the process; pushed back against special interests; stood for principle ahead of politics; and spread a sense of purpose across this country.

…

This election is too important to settle for what we know. That’s why I’m asking you in Northern Minnesota to reach for what we know is possible; to choose the future over the past.

If you vote for me on Tuesday, then you can send the cynics who say we can’t do this a message that we are one people, we are one nation, and our time for change has come; if you stand for change, then together we will begin the next chapter in America’s story with three words that will ring from sea to shining sea: Yes we can.

Hillary Clinton: Experience matters in meeting region’s needs

The fact is, this election isn’t about choosing change over experience. Change comes only with experience. And I’ll bring my experience to make change happen starting on day one.

…

For Minnesotans it is important for you to know that after the Interstate 35W bridge collapse, I unveiled my Rebuild America Plan, which includes establishing a $10 billion Emergency Repair Fund to address the backlog of critical infrastructure repairs and provides $250 million in Emergency Assessments Grants to states to conduct safety reviews of their infrastructure.

We know that investing in our nation’s infrastructure is vital for our safety and our economy. Mining and timber operations require that roads and rails are safe and efficient and that our Great Lakes freighters have clear ports and locks.

I have pledged that as president I will protect and restore the Great Lakes. We need to do this not simply because it is the right thing to do for the environment, but because the economy of this region depends upon our doing so.

But I can’t do these things without you. I need your support. So I am asking you to think about the big challenges ahead. I am asking you to choose the candidate best-prepared to make change happen starting on day one. And I am asking you to caucus for me. Together, we’ll make history.”

John McCain: The nation’s defense requires a strong leader

Special interests have too much influence in Washington, D.C. That will end. Pork-barrel projects have real consequences. Many of our failures in ensuring proper investment in our transportation infrastructure arise because of Congress’ failure to ensure that it is prioritized appropriately. Unfortunately, too often, needed funding is squandered on low-priority projects as a result of wasteful earmarks and pork-barrel spending.

I have also had the honor and privilege of working on a wide range of vital environmental issues, such as global warming, the protection of our national parks and the preservation of natural areas. I believe that the Great Lakes are a national treasure and should be treated accordingly.

…

I am running for president to protect our country from harm and defeat its enemies. I am running for president to restore trust in our government and to ensure it remains worthy of that honor. I am not running to leave our biggest problems to an unluckier generation of leaders, but to fix them now, and fix them well. I am running for president to make sure America maintains its place as the political and economic leader of the world; the country that doesn’t fear change, but makes change work for us; the country that does not look longingly to the past, but aspires to even better days. I am running for president of the United States, a blessed country, a proud country, a hopeful country, the most powerful and prosperous country and the greatest force for good on Earth.

Mitt Romney: Americans deserve a business leader’s experience

Washington is broken. And given the challenges we face, we must act to fix it.

We must start by strengthening our economy because as the national economy changes, it affects every state in the nation.

In January, Minnesotans received some of the worst employment numbers they’ve seen since 2001. This winter, families across Minnesota are facing soaring heating bills and too many are struggling to pay their mortgages. It is time for Washington to act, because Minnesotans cannot afford a recession. Minnesota jobs and homes are at stake if we do not act quickly to stimulate the economy, reduce energy costs, and encourage innovation to help American companies compete with the new economies on the rise in Asia.

…

My promise to the people of Minnesota and to every American across the country is that we will overcome these challenges, fix our economy, protect our shores and our families and remain the hope of the world.