The New York Times administered what many thought would be a fatal blow to Richard Blumenthal's U.S. Senate hopes last spring when it published a detailed account of his Vietnam War embellishments.
But the paper thinks the Democratic attorney general would make a better senator than his Republican opponent, former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon.
"Mr. Blumenthal has troubled us by occasionally telling audiences, falsely, that he served in Vietnam,'' the editorial states. "He has apologized in almost every public forum and made sure that he expressed his regret to real Vietnam veterans."
The Times referred to Blumenthal as "charm-free" (ouch!) but ultimately concluded that he has the right experience to serve the state in Washington.
McMahon, on the other hand, is not ready to take on weighty policy matters such as war, the economy and other crucial issues, the Times concluded.
She "made her name and lots of money by running...a noisy, demeaning business. Her policy positions, when you can discern them, are remixes of failed trickle-down ideas,'' the editorial states.