The New York Times endorsed Barack Obama today, which shouldn’t really come as a surprise.
However, they also unveiled a new feature that allows you to read every Presidential endorsement the paper has issued since it’s first in 1860 (Lincoln). Among the more interesting things to note is the fact that although the paper endorsed Franklin Roosevelt in 1932, 1936, and 1944, in 1940 they endorsed the Republican candidate Wendell Wilkie.
H/T: Matthew Yglesias
Easy explanation: Roosevelt was violating George Washington’s tradition of no more than two terms.
If you read the Wilkie endorsement editorial, you’ll see it was about more than just that. In fact, the third-term issue isn’t mentioned until the closing paragraphs.