The following is an excerpt from OpinionJournal.com’s “Best of the Web” written by the editor, James Taranto.

Two Papers in One!–II

  • “Most wrongheaded of all is [the Supreme Court’s] insistence that corporations are just like people and entitled to the same First Amendment rights. It is an odd claim since companies are creations of the state that exist to make money. They are given special privileges, including different tax rates, to do just that. It was a fundamental misreading of the Constitution to say that these artificial legal constructs have the same right to spend money on politics as ordinary Americans have to speak out in support of a candidate.”–editorial, New York Times, Jan. 22, 2010
  • “The state’s Roman Catholic leaders have played a vocal role in trying to turn out a big ‘no’ vote [on a Washington state ballot measure that would legalize same-sex marriage] by Catholic parishioners. But major corporate players in the Seattle area, including Microsoft, Amazon and Starbucks, are supporting the measure. That is an encouraging development for the future of the issue nationwide.”–editorial, New York Times, Oct. 31, 2012

Unenthusiastic Endorsement Watch

  • “No issue weighs on voters’ minds — and ours — more than the economy. On that, Obama has performed adequately. . . . That’s not to say that the economic stimulus plan was beautifully executed. It was not. It was rife with waste. Frankly, it showcased an inexperienced president. Of course, all presidents are inexperienced presidents in their first year. While we’re sometimes frustrated by Obama’s wonkish, plodding style, we respect his patience. . . . Obamacare is not ideal, but Obama, like us, concluded that perfect should not be the enemy of good. . . . Under Obama, progress has been slow or nonexistent on key fronts. . . . Much more remains to be done. For that, we’re sticking with the guy who got us this far.”–editorial, Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.), Oct. 27
  • “Four years ago, The Economist endorsed Barack Obama for the White House with enthusiasm. . . . Mr Obama’s first term has been patchy. . . . No administration in many decades has had such a poor appreciation of commerce. Previous Democrats, notably Bill Clinton, raised taxes, but still understood capitalism. Bashing business seems second nature to many of the people around Mr Obama. . . . The White House itself has too often seemed insular and left-leaning. . . . Above all, Mr Obama has shown no readiness to tackle the main domestic issue confronting the next president. . . . We very much hope that whichever of these men wins office will prove our pessimism wrong. . . . This election offers American voters an unedifying choice. Many of The Economist’s readers, especially those who run businesses in America, may well conclude that nothing could be worse than another four years of Mr Obama. We beg to differ. . . . This newspaper [sic] would stick with the devil it knows, and re-elect him.”–editorial, The Economist, Nov. 3 issue
  • “The question Americans should be asking ourselves isn’t whether we’re better off than we were four years ago. It’s whether we’re better off than we were 80 years ago.”–Robert McElvaine, New York Times website, Oct. 31

Great Minds Think Alike

  • “Al Qaeda Branch: Hurricane Sandy Punishment for ‘Crimes Against Islam’ “–headline, Arutz Sheva website (Israel), Oct. 31
  • “Oliver Stone: Sandy Is ‘Punishment’ for Obama & Romney’s Silence On Climate Change”–headline, Huffington Post, Oct. 30

For more “Best of the Web” click here and look for the “Best of the Web Today” link in the middle column below “Today’s Columnists.”