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In its editorial endorsing Jerry Brown for governor, the Daily News allows that he's not the ideal candidate, but clearly better and more prepared to be governor than political neophyte Meg Whitman. The editorial notes that Brown met with Daily News editors and reporters last week: "he impressed the editorial board with both his depth of understanding about the complex problems facing state government, from the prisons to pensions, and his pragmatic and multi-disciplinarian approach to solving them." Makes it sound as if Whitman's refusal to meet with the Daily News had an impact, as opinion editor Mariel Garza suggested in a column a week ago:
Sitting down with someone across a table, sharing eye contact and conversation is something that can't be replaced by all the interactive features on a campaign website. And sometimes endorsements turn merely on the strength of a connection between editorial board members and the candidate. Over the years, there's been more than one candidate the Daily News editorial board members expected to endorse but who lost that support during the interview process.[skip]
This campaign season has marked a couple of firsts: The most money ever spent in a gubernatorial campaign in California, and the first time a gubernatorial candidate has blown off the Daily News and its hundreds of thousands of readers.
Gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has declined to visit the Daily News and its sister papers for the traditional editorial board meeting...
It's not as if Whitman had no chance at the endorsement. The Daily News frequently endorses Republicans. By the way, front-page columnist Doug McIntyre says he'll be voting for Whitman, without enthusiasm.