The Economist endorses Kerry

The intellectually considerate conservatives that I know (all three of them) consider The Economist to be an especially insightful source of news and analysis. I usually agree with them, although I have reservations about what I perceive to be an overly conservative editorial perspective. In light of that perspective I was surprised to read that The Economist endorses John Kerry for president.

To be certain, the endorsement is hardly effusive, the cover of the magazine posits the choice as between 'The Incompetent or The Incoherent.' The editors stretched their thesaurus to its limits (oscillatory, vacillatory) before following Rove's talking points by finally referring to Kerry as a flip-flopper. Indeed, the conclusion of its case against Bush, which is framed entirely in terms of foreign affairs, is that there is no reason to believe that W would be more competent in a second term than he was in the first. And, ultimately, that is why The Economist endorses Kerry. According to them, their confidence in Bush's ability to lead has been shattered.