PD Editorial: For Obama

In three recent editorials, we have offered our views on the promises and positions of Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama concerning health care, foreign policy, the economy and tax policy. Today, we take a broader, final look at this presidential race.

It should be said from the outset that our country is fortunate to have two superior candidates running for the Oval Office at this critical juncture in history. Recent presidential elections have featured candidates whose campaigns seemed to be grounded on the premise that they weren't as bad as the other guy.

This year, voters have a choice between two candidates whose campaigns have been run -- until recently -- on their own merits and their own viable promise of change.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona is a worthy candidate. He was the wise choice for Republican nominee given his respected foreign policy experience, his centrist voting record and his independence on such issues as campaign finance and immigration policy.

Unfortunately, somewhere along the line McCain the Maverick got lost, replaced by a nominee who held out tax cuts as a fix-all and employed political tactics that looked and sounded very much like those of the current president.

This culminated with McCain's incomprehensible decision to name Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate. While Palin infused the campaign with energy and interest, it fizzled as it became painfully evident that she was unqualified for the post. This was followed by McCain's erratic performance during the bailout debate in Congress when he "suspended" his campaign, apparently to go to Washington and stand on the sidelines.

But that is secondary. The primary reason we have chosen not to support McCain is that there is a superior candidate in this race -- Barack Obama. Without reservation, he has our endorsement.

Few people in history have electrified this nation as much as the junior senator from Illinois. This energy began to flow with his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, where he introduced himself as the son of a Kenyan father and a Kansan mother. He told us at the time that his parents gave him the name Barack, or "blessed," believing "that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success." It was a belief that would be tested in the days to come.

That night, Obama set out "to affirm the greatness of our nation," and he has been on that audacious quest ever since.

He did what many thought was impossible in overcoming a juggernaut of support for Hillary Clinton to defeat the former first lady by a few hundred delegates. He has been tested during a long and exhausting campaign that culminated with McCain's tenacious onslaught during the presidential debates and the near meltdown of the nation's economy. He has been prodded and provoked about race, religion and his past associations. But throughout, Obama has been unflappable, demonstrating a level of calm and maturity that should lay to rest questions about his readiness to respond to any 3 a.m. call.

More than that, Obama has stood by his principles and not wavered from his desire to bring the nation -- and our political discourse -- to a better place.

We do not agree with Obama on everything he espouses. As we have noted, his call for a $3,000 tax credit for business to create jobs is unimpressive and his plan for a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures for homeowners who acted in "good faith" is ill-defined.

But what compels tens of thousands of people at a time to listen to him in places from St. Louis to Berlin is not his position on capital gains. It's his ability to speak in a way that inspires.

Some have scoffed at this gift. But eloquence is not such a bad thing to have in a president.

That brings us to our final point. For the past eight years, America has witnessed a gradual deterioration of its economy, its civil liberties and transparency and its standing in the eyes of the world. It's our belief that Americans' dissatisfaction with these events is about to manifest itself on Nov. 4 with something historic and decisive. We believe Obama is the right person for this moment in history.

As another young man from Illinois who would be president said 150 years ago, "Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed."

Obama has the public's ear. He has the public's voice. And, we believe most importantly, he has earned their vote.