MICHAEL BARONE: A Newspaper Endorsement That May Matter. “The Des Moines Register has endorsed Mitt Romney. The Register is not quite the statewide paper that it once was, but it is still clearly the most prominent paper in a state that is closely divided and has 6 critical electoral votes. The endorsement editorial is very much worth reading, because it tends to appeal to the high-minded affluent voters that can be found in large numbers on the west side of Des Moines and in its west side suburbs in Polk County and fast-growing Dallas County to the west. (Iowa was admitted to the Union in 1846.”

Also, it seems like quite a few papers that endorsed Obama in 2008 — like the Register — are endorsing Romney this time around. Seems like there’s a lot less hope-n-change enthusiasm.