The Cincinnati Enquirer has endorsed Paul Hackett in the Democratic Primary.

…Hackett is a lifetime resident of the area and understands that diversity. He is not an ideologue, but someone willing to listen to different points of view and to act on the basis of what he believes will best serve his constituents.

A Marine reserve officer who recently returned from duty in Iraq, he offers a perspective on the military and our overseas commitments not found in other candidates. He did not agree with the need to go to war in Iraq, but once that decision was made he put on his country’s uniform and volunteered to serve, which we believe to be a sign of genuine patriotism.

Now that we are there, he advocates staying until the Iraqi forces are adequately trained to defend their own country.

If elected, Hackett would be the only Iraq war veteran in Congress.

Hackett also brings the perspective of a small businessman, running a law office with five employees.

He knows firsthand what the burdens and benefits to business are when the government enacts new regulations or changes the rules on employment, Social Security or health insurance issues.

Hackett also served on Milford City Council after leading a recall against incumbents who were so caught up in personal attacks on one another that they had lost sight of the need to serve the people who had elected them.

His ability to take charge of a situation, whether it is a dysfunctional local government in Ohio, or setting up the basics of a civil government in a city in Iraq, will serve the people of the Second District well if he is elected to Congress.


They also gave high praise for Victoria Wells Wulsin and called her a candidate that they hoped to hear from in the future.

UPDATE: BizzyBlog adds his two cents:

From here, it’s hard to disagree that Hackett is the best candidate on the Democrat side, and he looks to be the best Democrat candidate to run for Congress in this area in a long, long time. If Democrat primary voters don’t pull the lever for Hackett on Tuesday, they will be missing out on their best chance to take this district in decades.

Agreed.