This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The usually conservative Chicago Tribune goes with Obama:

— Tribune endorses Obama: Our children's America

... Bolstered by his steadiness in office, cognizant of the vast unfinished business before him, we endorse the re-election of Barack Obama. ...

The traditionally liberal Des Moines Register backs Romney:

— Mitt Romney offers a fresh economic vision

... Which candidate could forge the compromises in Congress to achieve these goals? When the question is framed in those terms, Mitt Romney emerges the stronger candidate. ...

With a dissenting view:

— Obama faced a huge task and has us moving forward — Rekah Basu | The Des Moines Register

Presidential re-elections are never quite like the first time when, if you were lucky, you fell in love with the candidate. In four years, you see him up close. You sometimes get frustrated he isn't going farther faster or trumpeting his case better — as in one particular debate recently.

But if the relationship is good, four years let you see what he's made of and whether his priorities have matched his promises.

For this president, those promises could be boiled down to this essential framework: Having the backs of the majority of the people.

And Barack Obama does. ...

And a few more:

— Four more years: Support for Barack Obama's second term — Boulder Daily Camera

We had hoped for more change ...

— Not even close: Obama for president — Madison Capital Times, Wisconsin

— Gazette endorsement for president: Romney — Cedar Rapids Gazette, Iowa

— President of the United States: Mitt Romney — The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash.

— Mitt Romney is the best choice for America — The Oklahoman

Mitt Romney is a self-made man running for president against an incumbent who rejects the notion that society flourishes when government gets out of the way. From health care to regulation to energy policy to taxation — in so many areas — Barack Obama believes that government must dominate our lives and redistribute our incomes. ...

[Self-made man? Come on.]

An outlier:

— Gary Johnson for president — Chattanooga Free Press

And some conscientious objectors:

— Why we will no longer endorse in elections — The Chicago Sun-Times

— Why we won't make recommendations — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

— The Oregonian Editorial Board will not make presidential endorsement — The Oregonian