Published: November 02, 2008 07:19 pm      

EDITORIAL: Obama is our choice to lead the country

Barack Obama is our choice for president because he inspires the belief that we can do better.

He breaks from policies that have diminished us as a nation these past eight years — on the war, the economy and health care.

He has an intelligent, calm and reasoned approach to problem-solving.

Although Obama’s political resume is short, his life experience, education, eloquence and temperament are suited to building national confidence and international consensus for the goals of our democracy.

We are encouraged by his leadership that he will act in the best interests of America and seek out good men and women to advise him.

Indicative of that is his choice of six-term senator Joe Biden as a running mate, adding to the team valuable experience in foreign policy and the judiciary.

Sen. John McCain is, no doubt, a man of courage and resolve. He is a hero whose five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam did not break him but built in him a resolve to serve his country.

We admire him, but cannot support him for the nation’s top job. The self-described maverick espouses policies too close to those of George W. Bush, who has presided over an unwise and tragic war, a crumbling economy and an abuse of civil rights epitomized in the torture and indefinite confinement of prisoners in Guantanamo.

McCain’s presidential choice of neophyte Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin seems cynically political and undermines the gravitas of his own long years of service to our country.

The war in Iraq, launched on lies and pursued falsely as a defense of our freedoms, has cost more than 4,000 American lives and more than $600 billion dollars.

McCain has supported the surge launched in 2007 to add thousands of troops and extend the tours of duty of thousands more with the goal of leaving Iraq capable of emerging as a stable, peaceful and democratically. We are pessimistic that the goal can be achieved without greater risk of greater tragedy.

Obama opposed the war before the invasion and is our greatest hope of getting out with the least cost to American lives and international respect.

On health care, Obama gets our vote, too.

Nearly 47 million Americans are without health insurance. Obama’s plan would provide affordable, accessible health care for all Americans, build on the existing healthcare system and lower health care costs by $2,500 for a typical family.

We prefer it to McCain’s plan that more closely retains the private health insurance model that has served us poorly. His program would provide a refundable tax credit available to every U.S. citizen under age 65 to purchase health insurance either through their jobs or as individuals.

On the economic front, the Tax Policy Center says both candidates are proposing plans that would result in tax cuts for most American families. Obama’s plan gives the biggest cuts to those who make the least, while McCain would give the largest cuts to the very wealthy.

The latest issue of the New Yorker magazine quotes McCain as saying on MSNBC’s “Hardball” in 2000: “Here’s what I really believe: That when you reach a certain level of comfort, there’s nothing wrong with paying somewhat more.”

We agree with McCain on that one; apparently McCain, himself, no longer does. His maverick label belies the fact that he has turned more toward policies he once rejected. He has watered down his support of immigration reform and his opposition to “enhanced interrogation,” and unlimited domestic offshore drilling for oil and gas.

It is likely that Obama’s views will be modified in time by experience and wise counsel, but we feel confident that he will stick to values that are central to his core beliefs.

Obama is the one we trust to get us out of the current economic meltdown with greater stability in our financial institutions and less pain for those who now fear foreclosure, unemployment or both.

We realize that you, our readers have deeply held views of your own, and we continue to respect and encourage differences of opinion about candidates. We have expressed our views in this series of endorsements and hope that even if you do not agree with our choices, our statements have encouraged you to think about the issues and helped you make your decisions. Above all, get out and vote!