The Tribune's view confirms what members of the Reno Gazette-Journal's editorial board believed after interviewing Obama in January. He appeared genuine, comfortable in his own skin and truly interested in what each individual had to say to him. His responses were smart, thoughtful and occasionally humorous.
That is what Americans have witnessed over the past year in what surely has been one of the most grueling presidential campaigns of our lifetime. It's what Sen. John McCain has failed to demonstrate throughout his campaign.
As McCain has fallen behind in the polls, his campaign has appeared increasingly desperate, bouncing from message to message. First, Obama was an empty-headed "celebrity" to be compared with Paris Hilton. Then he was joined at the hip with a 1960s radical and called "dangerous." And over the past two weeks, the McCain campaign has sought refuge behind the great American bugaboo, socialism, by taking Obama's use of a common American ideal, sharing the wealth, out of context.
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The Minneapolis Star-Tribune recommends voters pick Barack Obama:
Each presidential campaign is billed as more critical than the last. This election -- coming amid a global financial crisis and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- truly finds the country at a crossroads.
Republican Sen. John McCain presents himself as a maverick, attempting to distance his agenda from the policies of the Bush administration. McCain is an American hero who has served his country with honor, often standing up for the causes he believed in despite intense political pressure.
Democratic Sen. Barack Obama also promises reform and change. Since his passionate "Red State-Blue State'' speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Obama has staked out an optimistic vision of a more united America and a bipartisan approach to addressing problems in Washington.
With hope that he can deliver on that promise, Obama receives our endorsement.
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The Charlotte Observer's choice is Barack Obama for president:
This choice is complicated by the puzzling election-year disappearance of the Sen. John McCain whom many Americans have admired since his military days, when he might have taken the easy way out of detention to return to America. That he refused to do so is a shining example of heroism. His subsequent Senate service and his independence of thought brought him admirers across party lines who saw in him hope for a government motivated not by partisanship but by a commitment to solving problems involving the best thinkers across the political spectrum.
We don't know what happened to that John McCain. In his pandering to the political right on some issues and his impulsive selection of a woefully unprepared governor as his vice presidential candidate, McCain has created doubts about his judgment that did not previously exist, and exposed how his reputation as a maverick can seem more like recklessness than courage. In doing so he has frittered away confidence in his ability to deal with a discouraging array of problems that will confront the next president.
By contrast, Sen. Barack Obama's inexperience in executive matters constitutes less of a concern than ordinarily it might. His intellect, his calm, rational approach to difficult issues, his coolness during the heat of debate and his sense of humor and humility offer something millions of Americans have yearned for in national politics – the ability to examine issues thoughtfully, to listen to competing interests and to develop solutions that more closely meet the needs of all.
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For only the second time in its history, the Hartford Courant has endorsed a Democrat for president:
In its 244-year history, The Courant has endorsed only one Democratic candidate for president, Bill Clinton. Today we endorse a second Democrat, Sen. Barack Obama, with the hope that if elected, he governs from the middle as Mr. Clinton did. Mr. Obama must resist serving only his party's interests and instead serve the greater interests of a worried nation.
America is starved for a leader who can restore pride and once again make the nation a beacon for the world, or in the words of Massachusetts Gov. John Winthrop in 1630, "a city on a hill — with the eyes of all people upon us."
Mr. Obama has the right qualities of leadership, the elevating, can-do message that "we are the ones we have been waiting for" and the calm temperament for these anxious times. He has the counsel of such trusted figures as former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell and investment legend Warren Buffett.
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In a surprise since it is a Republican paper, the Providence Journal has endorsed Obama:
Senator McCain has criticized his opponent for allegedly having too little experience. But consider Mr. Obama’s knowledge of America at the neighborhood and at the national level. Consider how well he understands and articulates the challenges and opportunities of our heterogeneous world and his obvious capacity for empathy and his ability to listen. (That is not to say, of course, that we laud his associations with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and some other dubious Chicagoans. But then, Mr. Obama, like Mr. McCain, has had a very complicated life.)
Mr. Obama was educated at Occidental and Columbia colleges and Harvard Law School, where he was president of the Harvard Law Review. His work in an international business consultancy, and then as a lawyer, writer, community organizer and politician has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to work with and inspire people in very different settings. And in his presidential race, he has shown an impressive management ability by organizing and running a vast and complicated campaign whose success would have seemed implausible two years ago.
I'd like to know how running a campaign and attending Ivy League colleges makes one qualified for the most powerful, most stressful job in the world.
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Common sense rules at the Indianapolis Star, which didn't agree to an endorsement of either candidate:
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Gen. Wesley Clark, in meetings with The Star Editorial Board last spring, both of whom at the time were campaigning for Sen. Hillary Clinton, noted how damaging presidential inexperience has been to the nation, from the administrations of John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush. That is a primary reason why The Star's Editorial Board endorsed Clinton in the primary election after interviewing her and Obama.
On the domestic side, Obama's tax proposals also are cause for concern. He would use the federal tax code to create in essence a new entitlement program for millions of American workers, sending them government checks even though they would pay no income tax. Obama's liberal stand on social issues also clashes with the Editorial Board's longstanding positions on such matters.
Republican John McCain has a long and distinguished record of service to the nation. His personal sacrifices, including more than five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, deserve the gratitude of all Americans. He has been a strong, bipartisan leader in the Senate, pushing, among other issues, for reforms in the campaign finance system and pork barrel spending.
McCain, however, has delivered a muddled message on how to confront the economic challenges facing the nation. He also is unlikely to provide a sharp enough break from the Bush administration's policies on the economy and foreign relations. His running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, also has limited experience, raising concerns about her readiness to lead the nation if needed.
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While Governor Palin alters the political landscape somewhat, that isn't what drove the Anchorage Daily News to support Obama:
Gov. Palin's nomination clearly alters the landscape for Alaskans as we survey this race for the presidency -- but it does not overwhelm all other judgment. The election, after all is said and done, is not about Sarah Palin, and our sober view is that her running mate, Sen. John McCain, is the wrong choice for president at this critical time for our nation.
Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, brings far more promise to the office. In a time of grave economic crisis, he displays thoughtful analysis, enlists wise counsel and operates with a cool, steady hand. The same cannot be said of Sen. McCain.
Since his early acknowledgement that economic policy is not his strong suit, Sen. McCain has stumbled and fumbled badly in dealing with the accelerating crisis as it emerged. He declared that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" at 9 a.m. one day and by 11 a.m. was describing an economy in crisis. He is both a longtime advocate of less market regulation and a supporter of the huge taxpayer-funded Wall Street bailout. His behavior in this crisis -- erratic is a kind description -- shows him to be ill-equipped to lead the essential effort of reining in a runaway financial system and setting an anxious nation on course to economic recovery
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The Louisville Courier-Journal says it's Obama for them:
In the sweep of American history, it is perhaps ironic that the significance of Sen. Obama's election would not be primarily that he would be the first African-American president.
The prospects that a victory for Sen. Obama could have great impact on how Americans view race, as well as pass the torch to a new generation, are exciting. But there will be little time to relish milestones.
The next president will follow one of the nation's most disastrous presidencies, and he will face grave challenges on multiple domestic and foreign fronts.
Sen. Obama does not have all the answers, and in some areas we wish he had offered more specifics. None of these problems will be easily solved. Budget constraints would force him to scale back some initiatives.
But he thinks along promising lines. And though a Democrat, his instincts to go beyond the Democratic-Republican, liberal-conservative battle lines that have paralyzed Washington are essential to building coalitions for progress and change.
In other words, he's a GOP-er, which is bad shit for the country.
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The Arizona Republic believes McCain is the leader for these times:
We have seen the irascible McCain. The bawdy and irreverent McCain. And, yes, the temperamental McCain. Likewise, we here in Arizona have seen the former Navy pilot and war hero evolve - slowly and with lots of fits and starts - into a statesman.
We have witnessed John McCain become a leader - not only of a delegation from a fast-growing Southwestern state, but into a national leader with a reassuring habit of stepping to the front when things seemed most difficult.
Nobody in the country knows the Republican presidential candidate better than we do. And no one is better placed to judge whether he would serve honorably and admirably as president of the United States.
We are confident he will. The Arizona Republic proudly recommends John McCain for president.
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The Argus Leader agrees McCain is the best choice:
War, energy independence, the economy - the magnitude of the challenge facing our next president is tremendous.
But our success in finding real solutions to the problems that confront us hinges on the compromise that is, ideally, found through the give and take of our political process.
Today, though, the dialogue that should be the very foundation of our democracy is clouded by fierce partisanship.
So as we choose a president to lead the country during the difficult four years to come, we look not only for a candidate who can offer leadership on the issues of gravest concern but who can return the clarity of a common purpose.
That candidate is John McCain.
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The New Orleans Times-Picayune endorses Obama:
Here in the New Orleans area, a cataclysmic man-made flood turned our world upside down and revealed a profound national neglect of our infrastructure. Our vulnerability and the government's unpreparedness were emblematic of other disasters waiting to happen elsewhere in this country.
America is poised on the cusp of new leadership, and once again the world, transfixed, is watching. Who is equal to these challenges? Who will lead the nation that leads the free world?
Our choice: Barack Obama.
Sen. Obama and his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, are both men of integrity, decency and honor. Sen. McCain is a war hero whose character was tested during his harrowing imprisonment in North Vietnam. In the U.S. Senate he has reached across partisan lines. To his credit, Sen. McCain expressed forcefully his dismay at the Bush administration's immediate response to Hurricane Katrina.
But on balance, we believe that Sen. Obama's qualities as a leader equip him better to be the next president.
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The Des Moines Register has endorsed Obama:
Barely two years into Barack Obama's first term as a U.S. senator, he launched an unlikely presidential candidacy imbued, he acknowledged, with a "certain audacity."
Casualties were mounting in Iraq, memories of the government's failed response to Hurricane Katrina still stung, and a majority of Americans told pollsters they believed the country was on the wrong track.
Yet in announcing his presidential bid, Obama outlined a bold, hopeful vision for America:
"Let us be the generation that reshapes our economy to compete in the digital age. ... Let's be the generation that ensures our nation's workers are sharing in our prosperity. ... Let's be the generation that ends poverty in America. ... Let's be the generation that finally tackles our health-care crisis. ... Let's be the generation that finally frees America from the tyranny of oil."
Critics immediately cast his talk of hope and change as naive and his lack of history on the national and international stage as too risky for the presidency.
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The Desert Sun says McCain is the better choice:
The country faces critical challenges. It is embroiled in two wars, national debt is $10 trillion and growing, foreclosed homes pepper neighborhoods across the country, the unemployment rate is climbing and the current president and Congress just passed a $700 billion bailout — money the nation doesn't have — in an attempt to end the credit crisis.
Yes, Americans demand change in the White House. But the issues facing the country are far too momentous to leave in the hands of anyone other than a proven leader. McCain is the only candidate in this presidential race with the experience and proven track record as a leader to deliver that change for all.
We know how McCain has voted in the past and it is not simply in lock-step with the Republican Party. He votes for what he believes is best for the nation, even if that puts him at odds with President Bush and other GOP leaders.
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The Oklahoman believes experience and toughness makes John McCain the best choice:
Yet in a sense, all are secondary to the unique obligation a president bears to provide crisis leadership. McCain is older and, we think, wiser in the ways of the world. He has seen much more of it than his younger opponent. His real-world experience goes beyond the world of politics. He has seen evil up close and knows the horror of war.
Difficult times require toughness, courage and an inner strength. John McCain is proven in all three areas, and The Oklahoman enthusiastically endorses him for president.
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The Lincoln Journal-Star argues the nation needs McCain's leadership:
America faces a world roiling with economic calamity and shadowed with threats.
The times call for an experienced leader, someone who has been tested, and tested again, someone who can be counted on not only to stand up to enemies, but also to stand up to friends.
John McCain is the best presidential candidate to lead the country through these chaotic times.
While we think Barack Obama’s leadership is a tremendous asset for America, we believe that McCain has a record that justifies greater confidence in his ability to guide the country as president for the next four years.
Our confidence is particularly strong when we envision McCain in the role of commander in chief.
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The Elko Daily Free Press prefers John McCain over Barack Obama:
We know McCain as a Western senator who is supportive of issues that matter here in Nevada. Rarely do we get a chance to vote for someone who isn't an entrenched Easterner, totally clueless about how “insensitive” the environment can be out here.
No matter how closely Obama pledges to look at mining reform legislation before signing any royalties into law, he is rated at 25 percent by the National Mining Association while McCain has scored 50-100 percent in the last two sessions. Look at the ratings done by environmental groups and you will find the reverse - Obama near the top and McCain near the bottom.
If we let radical environmental groups seal off millions of acres in the West to protect a single species like the sage grouse, what will happen to our plans for developing alternative energy and outdoor recreation?
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The York Daily Record endorses Barack Obama for president:
If the choice of Gov. Palin is an indication of John McCain's best judgment at a crucial, stressful moment in his campaign, then we can't trust him in the Oval Office. There is the hope that perhaps Sen. McCain is doing what he thinks he must to win the White House and then would revert to the old maverick.
That's too big of a gamble at a time when our nation desperately needs reasons for hope and confidence to overcome crises at home and abroad. Simply put, a McCain-Ridge ticket might have drawn this endorsement toward the Republican.
But we need, in the words of Gen. Colin Powell, a "transformational figure" to lead this nation.
Whether Sen. Barack Obama would be such a figure remains to be seen, but his remarkable campaign suggests he has more potential to fill that role than Sen. McCain.
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The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the face of change belongs to Obama:
The economy teeters. The country is waging two foreign wars. A third conflict - the "war" on terror - tests whether the nation will keep its soul.
A health care morass threatens pocketbooks and lives. Whether a U.S. Supreme Court tilt becomes more pronounced hangs in the balance. Problems abound for any incoming president, including regaining U.S. stature abroad.
The Bush administration has bumbled from crisis to crisis for nearly eight years, competence gone AWOL. The nation needs resuscitating change like a new baby needs that first breath of air.
Two would-be successors pledge it. But Barack Obama is more believable. We recommend him to be the 44th president of the United States.
Obama's vision and potential to be that change agent trump his relative lack of experience, though the experience he possesses is valuable. The maturity and calm demeanor he has exhibited these past two years in the public spotlight and earlier, speak to able, careful, inclusive leadership. And he is simply the better of the two on the issues.
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The Galesburg Register-Mail admits it has some selfish reasons for wanting Obama:
We also think Obama is the best choice for the country.
Obama has the intellect, skills and awareness to be an exceptional president. He’s a great orator and has the ability to bring the country together, much like Ronald Reagan did, through grass roots support. When the people back a commander, Congress falls in line. And Obama reaches people. He inspires them. In particular, he’s brought a new generation of voters to a political system that has operated far too long without them.
We understand some feel he’s too liberal, but we believe he will govern toward the center. The country simply will not stand for a hard jerk to the left and Obama realizes that.
He’s not afraid of challenge. He’s proven he has the mettle to stand up for himself and his country, but he also promises deliberation over rashness. Obama will surround himself with people of varying viewpoints and he will listen to those who disagree with him. He’s done that in Illinois.
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The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram thinks Obama is the change this country needs:
For many of the same reasons that the Star-Telegram recommended Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992, it is recommending Democrat Barack Obama in 2008.
Obama provides the prescription for America’s ills at this moment: a fine, inquisitive intellect, paired with an eloquence that allows him to articulate a message with clarity and substance; an ability to inspire people of all ages, races and ethnicities who never before were engaged in the political process; and an unflappable temperament that allows him to weather a barrage of withering personal attacks.
Under his leadership, the Obama campaign has been amazingly disciplined, efficient and effective. Those same talents will be essential for the difficult work ahead to rebuild the nation’s faltering economic institutions and restore citizen confidence.
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The Grand Forks Herald is owned by the same company owning the Forum (I have posted this editorial), and therefore it endorses John McCain for president.
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The Richmond Times-Dispatch endorses McCain for president:
Experience -- particularly in international and military affairs -- is a significant issue at the top of the tickets. These Editorial Pages have long maintained that national security ranks as the most important responsibility of any American president. And by this measure, John McCain is the clear and unambiguous choice in 2008. The world remains a very dangerous place. McCain has demonstrated the courage and sound judgment needed to protect the free people of this nation -- and assist those fighting for freedom around the world.
He sacrificed more than five years of his life for his country -- suffering as a prisoner of war in ways that most of us cannot imagine. As a political leader, McCain has continued to exhibit bravery and good sense. He spoke loudly -- again to the dismay of the Bush administration -- about the need for more troops and a new strategy in Iraq, a deeply unpopular stance that nearly destroyed his presidential aspirations. We know now that McCain was right -- and that his principled criticism was essential to avoiding defeat in Iraq.
When Russia invaded Georgia earlier this year, McCain immediately demonstrated a firm grasp of the risks and the actions needed to counter them -- while Obama dithered. Unlike the junior senator from Illinois, McCain will face no learning curve in the Oval Office. He understands the complexities of the Middle East, the dangers posed by Islamic jihadists, the strengths and the limits of the American military. He knows, from profound personal experience, all about the power of American liberty and ideals, and about the determination -- and calculation -- required to defend them.
We urge Virginians -- who will play a crucial role in the national decision for the first time in more than a generation -- to vote for John McCain for president. He is the right man for our perilous times.
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The Lynchburg News & Advance chooses McCain:
There’s a lot to like about each man who would be president.
But this election is too important for its outcome to hinge on whom voters like more; it’s about the political principles that this nation chooses to embrace.
John McCain, a conservative Republican of the “old school” with a modern outlook for the future, is our choice for president in 2008.
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The Waynesboro News Virginian chooses McCain despite his flaws:
Cable network news has spent most of the past 18 months enthralled with the idea of Barack Obama as president. The Democratic senator has climbed to the place of angels, not walking on water but somewhere far above it. His personality – composed partly of keen intellect and soaring rhetoric and partly of myth – has inspired devotion normally reserved for cult figures. Women espy him striding to a podium and swoon. Leftist commentators watch him and feel thrills rippling through their limbs.
Associations hover, but fail to cling. Bill Ayers, himself something of a cliché, walks freely and defiantly after escaping the law’s short reach in the wake of terrorist bombings. The man who once urged children to rise up and kill their parents handed millions of dollars to Obama, who then doled the money to radical education programs. Also lurking in the senator’s misty past is Saul Alinsky, a sociologist and self-proclaimed radical whom Obama regarded as a mentor. To lesser politicians, these relationships would have proved fatal; to Obama, only his appeal sticks.
Pounding fists against this ostensibly impenetrable veneer is Republican John McCain, an opponent who is certain of his self-image, as that of – we have grown to dread the word – maverick, but seems disturbingly unsure at age 72 of precisely who he is beneath the label. The Arizona senator cherishes the conservative vote but has made a lifelong habit of snapping at those hands from which he must feed. McCain smashes free-speech through campaign finance reform, swallows without contemplation climate change dross and accepts socialism and massive spending through the bailout of Wall Street while railing against the same.
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I almost forgot the St. Petersburg Times' endorsement of Obama:
These are uncertain times. Americans' confidence in our leaders and institutions has been shaken by a failing economy, lengthy wars and an erosion of civil liberties. We feel uneasy about our personal financial security, the country's place in the world and what the future holds. Frankly, after eight disastrous years under President Bush, either John McCain or Barack Obama would be a significant improvement and offer more reassuring leadership. But one candidate offers a clearer break with the past, the qualities to unite this country and the vision to lead it in a new direction. With enthusiasm, the Times recommends Barack Obama for president. Obama's inspiring message of hope and change resonates throughout America. It can be seen in the enormous numbers of new registered voters, the enthusiasm of younger citizens and the excitement among those engaged in the political process for the first time. The hunger for a new leader with fresh ideas has combined with the realization that old assumptions and Washington responses are no match for today's sobering new realities. This is an opportunity to turn to a leader from a new generation, someone who has the intellectual depth and inspirational qualities to confront the complicated issues at hand and create a shared vision for a brighter future for all Americans — regardless of their financial or social status.
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Let's not forget the Cincinnati Enquirer's endorsement of John McCain:
We are divided over our involvement in wars overseas, shaken by the collapse of financial institutions and the weakened economy, uncertain about our families' future well-being, and seemingly more polarized on partisan, cultural and regional lines than ever.
This is a time for a president with deep experience and proven character, a president who thrives in the great, good, honest middle ground in which most Americans live, a president forthright enough to tell us what we'd rather not hear, a president with the courage to follow his convictions and the grit to persevere.
This is Sen. John McCain's time.
We endorse the Arizona Republican for president.
McCain offers up his compelling biography as a war hero, his admirable candor and his centrist independence in an increasingly polarized political environment. A McCain administration would chart a wiser course on the economy than one led by his Democratic opponent, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois. McCain's campaign has recently found a sharp focus on economic and tax issues, allowing voters to draw clear distinctions with policies Obama would pursue.
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The Vacaville Reporter picks Obama:
This nation's economy is sputtering. U.S. troops are spread thin, trying to shore up Iraq and chase terrorists running between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The de-emphasis on diplomacy in recent years has cost us the support of former allies and renewed the enmity of countries that have never been particularly friendly.
Barack Obama is right: It is time for change. And The Reporter editorial board believes Sen. Obama is the best presidential candidate to bring it about.
His calm demeanor, which he has consistently demonstrated throughout this extraordinarily long campaign season, inspires confidence. His call for hope rather than cynicism taps into America's deep vein of optimism.
We don't agree with every one of his policies, but we do believe he is on the right track with the most important ones, such as his emphasis on freeing America from its dependence on foreign oil.
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The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat endorsed Barack Obama:
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.
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