On Wednesday the Philadelphia Daily News became, by its own reckoning, the first newspaper in the nation to endorse John Kerry for president in November. The paper went beyond the usual endorsement and vowed to take an active role in winning the election for Kerry:

Kerry, who fought in the swamps of Vietnam, can lead us out of the quagmire of the Bush administration--but for that to happen, he will need your help.

Past presidential election strategies focused on the "undecided" or "swing" voters. This election, we're pushing a different strategy: We're focusing on the people poll- takers call "unlikely" voters.

The paper goes on to exhort readers to register to vote and to "get others" to do so. It provides Kerry's Web site address and urges readers to make a donation. "You can help Kerry win Pennsylvania," the paper says. "Act now. The commonwealth--indeed the nation-- cannot afford another four years of George Bush."

We believe in free speech, so we have no problem with this. But if a company other than a media conglomerate (the News is owned by Knight Ridder Newspapers) undertook such an effort on behalf of a political candidate, surely the Federal Election Commission would be all over it. Perhaps the FEC should take up the question of Knight Ridder's electioneering for Kerry. It'd make an interesting test case.