What the editorial boards are saying about Obama’s future

Editorial boards across the nation weighed in with their endorsements for president in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 6 election. The Opinion L.A. blog rounded up a few of these political endorsements to show the range in support for President Obama versus the enthusiasm for Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Now that the election is finally -- mercifully! -- over and Obama has won reelection, here’s a look at what many of those editorial boards were saying Wednesday.

Detroit Free Press, which endorsed Obama, writes:

The next four years will belong not to the party that prevailed in Tuesday’s presidential election, but to those grown-ups in each party who find ways to engage their opponents in addressing the still-looming problems of 2008: How to grow the employment without ballooning the national debt; how to simplify taxes without exacerbating tax inequities; how to control entitlement costs; and how to end the costly impasse over immigration.

Those who begin the next four years imagining that they have a duty or mandate to frustrate their opponents at any cost are doomed to sink even further into public disrepute than their obstructionist predecessors.

Los Angeles Times, which endorsed Obama, writes:

[Obama] earned reelection by keeping the country from falling into a depression and persuading Congress to enact vital reforms to healthcare and the financial industry. And the path forward he laid out was far more reasonable than Romney’s too-good-to-be-true promise to shrink the deficit while cutting tax rates and pumping more dollars into the Pentagon. […]

The longer-term problem for the president will be coping with the dueling pressures of an economy that’s growing too slowly and a federal debt that’s growing too fast, largely because of the rising cost of Medicare and Medicaid. […]The current paralysis in Washington demands the kind of leadership that brings lawmakers out of their foxholes. Obama needs to find a way to convince highly polarized lawmakers that both sides can and should shape major pieces of legislation. […]

Pulling the factions together is a daunting task, but Obama has no alternative. The relentlessly negative campaign, conducted at shocking expense, won’t make that job easier. But even a narrow win gives Obama some political capital; he should spend it now building bridges to the other side.

New York Times, which endorsed Obama, writes:

President Obama’s dramatic re-election victory was not a sign that a fractured nation had finally come together on Election Day. But it was a strong endorsement of economic policies that stress job growth, health care reform, tax increases and balanced deficit reduction -- and of moderate policies on immigration, abortion and same-sex marriage. It was a repudiation of Reagan-era bromides about tax-cutting and trickle-down economics, and of the politics of fear, intolerance and disinformation.

Chicago Tribune, which endorsed Obama, writes:

Mr. President, enjoy your Wednesday. Then, back to work. We endorsed you this year, as we did in 2008. And now we implore you to recognize the mistakes of your first term, mistakes that nearly cost you a second term.

Listen, at last, to this nation’s employers. They do have a notion of what it will take to put the nation back to work. They have genuine fears about the burden that government places on them, fears about the cost of your signature health care reform, fears about federal borrowing that now rises by $3 million every minute. […]

Republicans, Obama is your president for four more years. It is time to work with him on an agenda to revive this nation’s economy and tame its debt. Work ... with ... him.

Des Moines Register, which endorsed Romney, writes:

The president’s agenda should include building and restoring the infrastructure that is the foundation of a strong economy; loosening the grip of our dependence on foreign oil by exploiting domestic energy sources that include clean and renewable fuels; reducing greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming; assuring everyone has access to health care; guaranteeing every child has an opportunity to receive an excellent education.

None of that can be fully realized, however, without robust economic growth that provides meaningful jobs. That means giving businesses large and small the confidence and the opportunity to grow and create those jobs. It also means restoring the vitality of the middle class so millions of Americans are able to share the wealth and enjoy a secure future. […]

The first task for President Obama is to use what Teddy Roosevelt referred to as the president’s “bully pulpit” to rally the nation behind him in persuading Congress to put aside petty partisan grudges and to go to work toward solving the issues that are critical for the future of this nation.

Assuming the Tuesday night’s projected outcome holds, Barack Obama will have that opportunity. He must now seize the support of the voters to make this the most important election of our time.

Tampa Tribune, which endorsed Romney, writes:

The outcome should send a signal to the Republican Party. Florida underscored its challenge. Major urban areas, including Hillsborough, went with the president, showing that the GOP needs to broaden its reach beyond mostly white suburbs. Its message of free enterprise and self-reliance is not the problem. But it must refine that message to better include minorities, immigrants and the young creative class.

For his part, we hope the president recognizes that he took the nation further to the left than most citizens wanted to go. If he governs from the center, we imagine his popularity and accomplishments will grow.

Green Bay Press-Gazette, which endorsed Romney, writes:

The president will get another four years to fulfill some of the promises he made at the beginning of his first term, namely to help the economy, which includes creating an atmosphere for job growth, reducing the debt and the deficit, and making health care more affordable.

However, we can’t wait four years for some progress. That needs to happen now to avoid the fiscal cliff and to keep a slowly improving economy on the road to recovery. […]

The Green Bay Press-Gazette editorial board endorsed Romney based on what we believed was his ability to help this economy. It’s up to Obama to help the economy, and it’s up to Congress to put aside partisan bickering and do what’s in the best interests of the country’s economy.

Los Angeles Daily News, which endorsed Romney, writes:

The American people have spoken. And whether their side won or lost, most people are at least happy to have this election over. They want our leaders to stop battling and start working for the good of the citizens they represent. This is the obligation of the president and the new Congress -- starting now. […]

[Obama] will have to lead as he failed to do the last four years -- to reach out to both Democrats and Republicans in Congress, bring both warring sides to the table and make them work together for the good of the country.

That means crafting meaningful tax reform, immigration reform and moving ahead on other issues on which compromise is required. It means adopting common-sense policy to address climate change. It means putting the country back on the path to prosperity.

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Follow Alexandra Le Tellier on Twitter @alexletellier