Montgomery Advertiser:
The scope of an American president's authority is broad, including command of the nation's military forces, hundreds of appointments to key government positions and nominations to the Supreme Court. But the greatest opportunity lies in the president's ability to lead, to inspire this diverse nation to do better, to live up to all that is best in the ongoing experiment in democracy that is the United States of America.
In light of that, the Advertiser believes that Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, the Democratic nominee, is the better candidate for the presidency on Nov. 4. Obama is a transformational figure, a generation younger than his opponent, a man with both a lively mind and a caring heart, and the first major party candidate for president whose understanding of the world is not molded by the Cold War or the Vietnam experience.
The Republican nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain, is a distinguished American who has honorably served his country. His story of imprisonment during the Vietnam War is well known, and his service there deserves the deepest appreciation. But those years in a POW camp do not entitle him to the presidency, nor can they be said to have prepared him for it.
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Gainesville Sun:
Here's what impresses us most about Barack Obama: Throughout this long and often ugly campaign season, he has endured repeated attacks; on his character, on his parentage, on his religious beliefs, on his patriotism, and yes, on the color of his skin.
And yet, throughout it all, he has never lost his composure. He has remained cool and collected. He has stayed on message. He has continued to cast his candidacy in a thoughtful, even visionary manner.
It is not his "celebrity" that has won over legions of young, first-time voters. Rather, Obama has, through the power of his rhetoric and reason, captured the imagination of millions of Americans who have little interest in politics-as-usual.
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South Florida Sun-Sentinel:
Time and again, Obama scaled hurdles on the campaign trail, and emerged seeming all the more presidential. His landmark Philadelphia address on race was a watershed. Last March, before Wall Street imploded, Obama spoke about capital markets regulation - and the lack thereof - with authority and prescience. That grasp, shaped by advice from top financial minds, including Warren Buffet and former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, stirs confidence.
While Obama rose in stature, McCain chose shrill over statesmanship. This Editorial Board was impressed with McCain, who visited us last January and showed himself to be knowledgeable, witty and independent. What has happened to John McCain since then is beyond us. Perhaps, in wooing the right-wing, McCain lost sight of the political mainstream.
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I can't find the editorial from the Honolulu Advertiser, but I thought I'd pass along this special section about Obama.
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Decatur Herald & Review:
Biden, while not the most exciting candidate, does bring a wealth of experience to the race. Palin, on the other hand, has proven she's not ready for leadership on a national stage. She struggles to answer policy questions and reverts too often to pithy quotes that are entertaining but really don't say anything.
It's a scenario no one wants to consider, but it's a lot easier to be comfortable with President Biden than President Palin.
The other issue is admittedly parochial. Obama is from Illinois and if elected would be the fourth president with ties to the state. Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant were long-time residents of the state, and Ronald Reagan was born in Dixon.
Having a president from the state - along with Dick Durbin, who is expected to be the No. 2 leader in the U.S. Senate - would have to be good for the state. That would be especially true if the leaders in Springfield could get their act together.
McCain has served his country well, both as a soldier and a senator. His career has been an outstanding one. No one should doubt his patriotism or his love of country.
But looking to the future, it's clear that the country needs a new kind of leader. Barack Obama has the best chance to be that kind of leader.
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The Lafayette and West Lafayette Journal & Courier:
But amid all the rancor and vitriol, Barack Obama stands calm, confident and collected. He seems able to see beyond ideologies and address the root issues that are holding our country back.
Voters take from Obama a hope and encouragement that few previous presidential candidates have offered.
Given the current state of our country and the dismal economy, the Journal & Courier believes Obama is the better presidential candidate.
He is smart, thoughtful and strategic. He has surrounded himself with strong, savvy advisers. His campaign's performance to date shows he has the attributes needed to lead and to govern. A candidate who can develop and implement a political strategy that topples Hillary Clinton's political machine, raises record amounts of money and helps generate unprecedented voter turnout has proven his executive skills.
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Ottumwa Courier:
We concede that the Courier editorial board was split over this endorsement. McCain, after all, is well versed in a number of areas, including foreign policy matters and how Washington works. But the majority of our board felt McCain’s campaign has trekked too far to the right.
In the end, this debate is about making a choice between Obama and McCain. Who will do the best job in moving us away from the past eight years of economic instability, partisan bickering and “cowboy diplomacy?”
We believe it is Obama who has shown he is prepared to take on the serious challenges we face as a nation.
A week prior to the Iowa Caucuses, Obama told the editorial board that now is the time for something greater than ourselves.
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Worcester Telegram & Gazette:
Moreover, his presidential campaign has been a model of organization and discipline, prevailing even over the Clinton electioneering juggernaut. In a primary and general campaign fraught with distractions, Mr. Obama has maintained iron self-discipline, seldom allowing himself to be drawn off message more than momentarily.
The unflappable demeanor and civility of discourse Mr. Obama displayed in the presidential debates project the kind of reassurance people seek in a leader in times of political and economic turmoil, and which are apt to help build diplomatic bridges with foreign leaders as well.
In recommending Sen. John McCain to Republican primary voters in February, we pointed to his honorable service to his country in the military and during 21/2 decades in Congress, where his willingness to reach across the aisle to like-minded Democrats is legendary. Although his selection of a running mate gave us pause, we are confident that if he were to prevail in November, he would serve honorably in the White House as well.
Yet, a president’s effectiveness may depend less on years of experience than on intangibles. In a rapidly shrinking world, in which cooperation with other nations will be increasingly critical to our own nation’s success, we believe Barack Obama possesses the leadership skills, core values and forward-looking vision that are needed at this critical time in our country’s history.
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Battle Creek Enquirer:
Nonetheless, our next president will have tremendous influence in shaping our future.
We think Democrat BARACK OBAMA should be that person. He has the intelligence, temperament and ideas that can help guide this nation as we endure difficult times ahead.
For more than a year, we have watched him wage an impressive campaign, first for the Democratic Party's nomination, and now for the presidency. Throughout the process he has been consistent in his ideals and inspirational in his rhetoric. He has maintained his dignity as his opponents in the primaries and general election have leveled every possible charge and accusation at him.
Will a masterful campaigner become a great leader? We don't know. But Obama has displayed a toughness during this arduous campaign which should serve him well as president.
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Livingston County Daily Press & Argus:
It is Obama who has acted more presidential, resisting the temptations to react to cheap taunts tossed by his opponents.
Some of Obama's positions need to be challenged. He relies too much on government solutions. His energy policies need to expand to fully use all sources, including nuclear, clean-coal, and oil-drilling both offshore and in Alaska.
He has by far the better health-care plan, providing for the coverage of all children. His tax plan, far from socialist (more name-calling from the Republicans) is reasonable. McCain's plan is fine if you earn millions of dollars. It's not so good for the rest of us.
While the McCain-Palin ticket seeks to benefit from a divisive campaign, Obama seeks to unify a nation needing solutions, comfort, confidence and leadership.
"The true test of the American ideal," said Obama, "is whether we're able to recognize our failings and then rise together to meet the challenges of our time."
On Tuesday, Nov. 4, voters should start taking back the responsibility for the nation's future by electing Barack Obama as our president.
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Conway Daily Sun, which is subscription only, but thanks to commenter mhigh, I have been directed to a Democratic Underground post which has the PDF file of the endorsement:
As the only newspaper in New Hampshire to endorse Sen. John McCain in both the 2000 and 2008 primaries, we have made the difficult decision not to support him for president.
All politicians compromise, equivocate and pander. But by choosing Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, the once straight-talking maverick that New Hampshire grew to respect and admire crossed the line and sold his soul. Faced with either following his instincts by choosing a moderate, like Sen. Joe Lieberman or former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, either of whom would have appealed to independent voters, McCain caved in to the far right of his party and chose perhaps the least qualified vice presidential nominee ever. It is a decision that cost him the support of many conservative heavyweights, including Gen. Colin Powell and Christopher Buckley, and it is a decision that should cost him the presidency.
Sen. Barack Obama, however, promises to be a transformational president not unlike, and not seen since, Ronald Reagan, who in 1980 unleashed a renewed spirit of optimism in America and nearly three decades of uninterrupted prosperity. Just as 1980 marked the repudiation of the Democrats, who dominated public policy starting with FDR’s New Deal and ending with Jimmy Carter, amid economic stagflation and the humiliation of the hostage taking in Iran, it is now the Republicans whose ideas are bankrupt and whose party has run out of gas.
President Bush turned Reagan’s brand of can-do conservatism into the politics of fear, greed and misguided foreign policies, leaving this country with a broken economy and an unpopular war. What fitter symbols are there of Bush’s arrogance and cynicism than the “Mission Accomplished” banner pronouncing the end of a war that was just beginning, and $600 tax rebates, the subtext of which was to convince Americans we could spend our way out of a recession.
This country is ready to change; ready to change the way we fight terrorism and deal with our allies and enemies, ready for a dramatic new energy policy, ready for new ways to fix our health care system and ready for economic policies that inspire us to work and create, rather than to spend money we don’t have.
America has an amazing and unique ability to reinvent itself and choose the leader who can do this. That was Reagan in 1980. It is now Obama.
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Courier Post:
We cannot ignore the historic nature of this election: America stands to elect an African American as president or a woman as vice president. This gives added significance and poignancy to whom we choose and what it says about us as a nation. No matter what the outcome, this election is a step forward.
Obama has clearly tapped into a certain desire for change. He is an eloquent speaker and can articulate a vision for what America can be. We've seen, during the campaign, how he has wrapped his vision for change in concrete proposals, and that's important. It gives us hope that he can live up to his potential if he becomes president.
Obama and the Democrats must not lose sight that, if there is a victory, no matter what the margin, America still remains of different minds politically. Obama has been called by Gen. Colin Powell a "transformational figure." For him to be truly transformational, Obama must work hard to unify these differing hearts and minds into one purpose: to make all Americans better off in the future.
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Farmington Daily Times:
The Daily Times editorial board debated during several meetings on who it would endorse in this election, and it was a split decision. Nevertheless, The Daily Times endorses Barack Obama for the presidency.
It came down to one primary factor.
We admire and appreciate McCain for his moral values, his experience and most certainly his dedication to our country as evident by his years of military and government service.
We are much intrigued with Obama because of the fresh ideas, the change he offers, his economic ideas and his new approach to the world political stage.
The tip of the scale for us came with McCain's choice of a vice presidential candidate. Few of us are convinced that Sarah Palin is ready to be the president of the United States, and as with any vice president, she would be only one heartbeat away if McCain is elected. Further, we question McCain's judgment in making such a choice.
While Biden has his faults, he is a senator who understands what it would take to weigh and make difficult decisions, and he understands how important it is and how difficult it is to develop political support to get something done in Washington. Palin's experience in Alaska is far from the same.
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Journal News:
The next president will need to lead a national conversation about our changing world. By virtually every account, the economic upheaval will not be short-lived. Americans used to quicker returns on their investments - investments in businesses and in people - will need to alter their expectations to the extent that they are rooted in our past of immediate and outsized gratification. We did not dig a hole this deep overnight. But there is way out of it and toward a better future.
We believe Barack Obama is uniquely talented to lead that national conversation in the years ahead - in large because he has respected the intelligence of the voter, from wire to wire during this race. America can get used to a president who speaks to the issues and challenges without insult, who speaks honestly and openly about shared sacrifice, who hears the voices of all its citizens, who puts the people's business first, who has a vision for the future that is at once lofty, inclusive and quite reachable. Yes, those are consequences we could get used to.
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Middletown Times Herald-Record:
Far from being naive on all these, he was ahead of his time; the world, including the Bush administration, has had to catch up to him.
If we make the right choice a week from Tuesday, it will come despite a performance by the press, especially the broadcast and online contingents, that was both irresponsible and irritating. At a time when we needed clarity and communication, we got far too much chatter, most of it meaningless, much of it fed by the candidates themselves.
Among the foolishness was the issue of which candidate was elite, the one with all the houses or the one with the Ivy League degrees? The answer lies in the Latin root of the word, which is the same as the root of the word "elect."
On Nov. 4, voters should elect one who is elite in the best sense of the word, one whom voters choose to use his power and influence for the good of the nation. That would be Barack Obama.
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Mansfield News Journal:
As a candidate, Obama has built a broad base of supporters; an inclusive group that crosses lines of race, gender, income and other essential constituents.
We don't know if one single political leader has all the answers. We see things to like and dislike in plans put forward by Obama and his opponent, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona.
We remain a nation divided in too many ways, a condition that has worsened during the past eight year.
We believe Obama offers the best opportunity to begin crossing these demographic and political fault lines, working for consensus and in communicating new directions and ideas to a nation badly in need of leadership.
Obama's personal background will assist in this effort. Diversity and acceptance of others and their ideas are critical today and Obama's understanding of these concepts through his own life experiences is a major advantage he holds over McCain.
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Youngstown Vindicator:
Obama has taken command of the national stage as have few others in U.S. history. But he would be neither the first nor the last politician to fail his nation if he cannot heal its divisions, set a difficult course and convince both supporters and detractors that they must band together, make sacrifices and recognize that the lifestyle most Americans have come to cherish is in jeopardy.
The financial turmoil on Wall Street and the ways in which it is trickling down to Main Street have prompted allusions to the Great Depression. There is reason to believe that we are on the brink of a deep recession. But no one knows what lies a month or a year down the road or when a turning point will be reached. It is, however, certain that the nation did not get where it is — with trembling markets and dwindling jobs — in a year or two, and it will not emerge from this dark and scary place overnight.
Of the candidates in this race, Obama has the youth, the energy, the education and the flexibility that will be needed for the next four years. John McCain performed with distinction in military service and in Congress. We are not departing in any degree from honoring that service in expressing our belief today that the country will be best served by the election of Barack Obama.
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The East Oregonian endorsed Obama, but it was probably some time ago. This link has a sidebar showing a list of the paper's endorsements.
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Scranton Times-Tribune:
It is almost redundant to say that an impending presidential election is one of the most important in history. The election of a president is not simply about elevation of an individual to high office but about the future of the world’s oldest and greatest democracy.
Even greater anticipation of this presidential election is abundantly justified, however, by the perfect storm of deeply troubling issues facing the United States, in terms of the economy, security and all of their related issues.
The questions of how to reinvigorate the world’s most powerful economy and restore America’s standing in the world go directly to presidential leadership.
Change of course requires new leadership
Pressing economic and security conditions, separately, are massive issues. Together, they point to the overarching requirement for the man who will be elected president: the leadership ability to inspire Americans to a new era of greatness.
As this campaign has progressed, it has become clearer with time that Barack Obama is well-suited to the awesome tasks ahead. The Times-Tribune endorses him for president.
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Beaver County Times:
The next president of the United States doesn’t necessarily have to be a uniter.
He does, however, have to be a leader who can convince Americans to start pulling in the same direction.
For that reason, our editorial board endorses Democrat Barack Obama for president.
We start with a basic premise: Neither candidate will be able to fulfill the promises he is making. In addition to working with a dysfunctional Congress, the next president will be limited by the economic meltdown.
Therefore, what matters most is that the next president has the temperament to be a steady, focused leader who can communicate with his fellow Americans.
A candidate’s campaign is an indicator of leadership abilities, and the Obama campaign has given Americans a good glimpse of that. By almost all accounts, it has been a focused, steady and disciplined effort that reaches out to as many people as possible.
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Delaware County Daily Times:
There is another reason to believe Obama would be the more effective leader. He has proven he is more than an eloquent orator. Throughout the course of the campaign, he has appeared unflappable, even in the face of ugly accusations and mud-slinging.
Instead, he appears thoughtful, cool and not prone to rash action. On the other hand, McCain’s temperament and actions continue to sow doubt.
On a larger stage, the world often looks to America for leadership. Too often in the last eight years, it instead has heaped scorn on us. Adding to the weight on the new president’s shoulders will be the burden of refurbishing America’s reputation abroad.
The nomination of Obama has done something else as well. It has done much to demonstrate how far America has come in the area of race relations. Unfortunately, in some instances, it also tells us we still have a ways to go.
But it also sends the unmistakable message that America truly is the land of opportunity.
For now, the opportunity lies in the hands of the voters. For real change, for a steadying influence after eight years of tumult, Obama strikes us as the more reasoned choice.
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Uniontown Herald-Standard:
With the nation at a critical juncture, the Herald-Standard editorial board endorses Democrat Barack Obama for president, believing he best represents the interests of a middle class rocked by tough economic times. On the key issues of health care, economic opportunity and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a majority of our board thinks Obama offers meaningful and badly needed change.
That opinion was not universal, however, as Republican candidate John McCain garnered strong support from several of our board members. They maintained that McCain has more experience by far than Obama and would be better equipped to deal with the challenges ahead.
However, a majority of board members agreed that Obama would be the best candidate to lead the country away from the ruinous policies espoused by the Republican administration of George Bush. McCain may have been a maverick within his party's ranks, and the former prison of war is a bona fide national hero, but it's hard to see where he'd be much different than Bush when he admits to voting with the president 90 percent of the time.
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Pottstown Mercury:
his race for President and the campaign surrounding it has brought out vast differences, and the hope is that in the next President the nation finds a leader who can unite the divide.
But lost in the robo-calls and rhetoric of the past few months is the picture of the four candidates at the top of the ticket — a picture that shows the promise of America.
The Democratic nominee for President of the United States is a 47- year-old senator from Illinois. He is a man of mixed race, the son of a Kenyan father who met his Midwestern mother while a student. He was raised by his grandmother in Hawaii, and married the daughter of a Chicago water-plant worker who worked her way to Princeton and returned to the Midwest as a community organizer and lawyer.
Just the name Barack Obama speaks volumes about the differences from presidents of the past. He is no George, James, or John, and that difference alone, as Powell noted, has raised eyebrows about his loyalties and beliefs.
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Pocono Record:
Obama continues to reach out to all Americans, in small towns and big cities, rich and poor, Christian and non-Christian. He has focused his stump speeches and public statements on the issues and acquitted himself with calm and intelligence during three televised debates.
His spirit of inclusiveness has drawn large crowds to campaign events across the nation, including the Midwest where his mother and grandparents are from and where he has put down roots. His campaign fundraising arm boasts of some 3 million contributors, most of them small donors. In a recent endorsement, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a Republican, referred to Obama as "transformational figure" who represents a new generation of Americans on the world stage. Our divided nation badly needs this kind of leader.
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Staunton News Leader:
Our choice is Democrat Barack Obama, and this is not a decision we come to lightly, nor should it be.
In the pivotal year of 2000, we endorsed John McCain for the Republican nomination for the top office in the land. Like so many, we greatly admired his passion for service, his gritty determination to do what was right and his overcoming of the evil that held him and his comrades prisoner in Vietnam. He faced another fierce battle in that primary season, and the Republican forces fought him down, handing the nomination to Bush II.
His gritty determination remained, but McCain's decisions in joining the fight for the office again no longer seemed like his own. He moved from moderate to the conservative side of the party when he began courting the far right.
When he chose for his vice-presidential candidate the governor of Alaska, again he pandered to the conservatives who still were lukewarm to his candidacy.
If the John McCain of 2000 were the John McCain of today, this might be a different endorsement, but he gave away what was good about his potential presidency in the desperate struggle to attain it.
When Obama took to the lectern at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, we saw an intriguing figure in national politics, but he was a rookie senator with a fresh face.
Turns out that's what we need.
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Kitsap Sun:
If there is one thing uniting Americans in this presidential election, it is hunger for change. After eight years of the Bush administration, both John McCain and Barack Obama have put themselves before the voters as leaders who want to take the nation in a new direction.
A majority of our editorial board endorses Barack Obama as the candidate who offers a stronger vision of change, better prescriptions for the future and the high road to travel in uniting the nation.
Like the nation itself, however, ours is a board divided: Six members support Obama, four support McCain. With polls showing Obama with a comfortable lead in Washington, our board appears to mirror the state's prevailing sentiment.
What's interesting about this editorial is it features the opinions of all of the editorial board members.
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The Times West Virginian:
The years of the Bush presidency have been a trying period for America. The nation has gone from running a surplus to going deeply in debt. Terrorists attacked on our soil, and the country is involved in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq — the latter conflict costing more than 4,000 American lives and about $10 billion a month in a country with a huge budget surplus. Now the country is facing economic crises on several fronts.
Voters have a tough decision to make.
Obama’s reaction to what middle-class Americans are facing has led the Times West Virginian — by a 3-2 vote of the editorial board — to endorse him for the nation’s highest office.
We have no doubt that McCain, like Obama, sincerely wants the best for a country that he has served virtually his entire adult life. However, his reaction to the ongoing economic crisis has been shaky at best.
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Chippewa Herald:
Barack Obama has the proper vision of America’s role in the world and the role of its government at home to establish sensible policies in these areas.
America had widespread sympathy and support around the world after the 9-11 attacks. That support has evaporated due to the policies it has pursued. Obama would be in a position to restore America’s credibility among its allies and friends.
Restoring health to the nation’s economy will be even more difficult considering the mess that the nation finds itself in at this point. It will likely require patience, sacrifice and a positive attitude from the American people. That will require inspirational leadership from the nation’s president, and there is every reason to believe that is Obama’s greatest strength.
In some ways, the situation is similar to 1980, when Jimmy Carter’s failed presidency faced the candidacy of Ronald Reagan. The nation’s eventual recovery and the enduring popularity of Reagan were not so much due to the specific policies he adopted, but in how he inspired the nation and brought out the best in its people. Obama has the chance to be such a transformational figure at a time when the nation desperately needs one.
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Kenosha News:
We strongly encourage readers to vote for Barack Obama for president.
Obama, 47, is a Democratic senator from Illinois. His opponent is John McCain, 72, a Republican senator from Arizona.
Obama's critics are quick to point out that he is a relative newcomer to national politics, and they contend he does not have sufficient executive experience to be president. The masterful campaign Obama has conducted deflates this criticism. A year ago, Hillary Clinton was the clear frontrunner for the Democratic Party's nomination and was often referred to as "the presumptive nominee." Starting in January when he made a strong showing in the Iowa caucuses, Obama and the organization he put together simply campaigned better and smarter than the experienced and established Clinton campaign. To win the nomination, the young, relatively inexperienced Obama defeated some of the best and brightest in American politics. That shows executive talent.
Obama's executive skill also showed in one of the difficult choices of the campaign, the decision to forego public financing. The McCain campaign has described this as a broken promise, and although that description isn't really fair, some Obama backers who support public financing were disappointed in the decision. But it was far more important for Obama to send the message to his opponents that he would have the resources to combat negative attacks like those the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth used against John Kerry in 2004. In fact, Obama has countered false rumors and negative attacks quite well, and his fund-raising prowess has given his campaign an enormous advantage.
2 comments:
Conway endorsement: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7642701
Thanks! I will update the endorsement post.
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