It is fair to say no presidential election in a generation has come at a more difficult and trying time for America.
The nation's financial industry is in shambles, trillions of dollars in personal wealth have evaporated from Wall Street, millions of Americans have lost their homes or gone bankrupt or both, jobs are vanishing and we are still embroiled in two wars half a world away.
What we need at this crucial moment in history is a leader who offers not just hope for a new direction, but someone who can inspire the nation to set aside differences and work for the greater good. We need policies that will help the great middle class get back on its feet and restore confidence in our system and the future. We need a foreign policy that will keep America safe and pursue our terrorist enemies while restoring the trust and admiration of the world.
We think that candidate is BARACK OBAMA and we urge his election Tuesday.
On the economy -- our top national challenge -- Obama has said recovery won't come easily. He has proposed increasing investment in the nation's infrastructure, education and research and development. He favors lowering taxes for the middle class while raising taxes on the highest earners, a direct reversal of the "trickle-down" economic theory still favored by his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, of Arizona.
Obama wants more investment in alternate energy and pro-worker trade policies. He has said financial markets need greater oversight. He has proposed eliminating capital gains taxes on small businesses and startups. He favors a pay-as-you-go federal spending policy long advocated by some Democrats.
Despite McCain's military and foreign policy experience, he has stubbornly clung to the concept that we must "win" in Iraq without ever saying what "victory" would look like. For McCain, pursuing al-Qaida is secondary.
Obama has rightly said our real war must be against terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan, including al-Qaida, and has advocated pursuing them into Pakistan if necessary.
Former Secretary of State and Joint Chiefs chairman Colin Powell, who helped George W. Bush make his case for the war in Iraq, has endorsed Obama.
Obama's health care program would center around continuing private insurance plans but with a government-funded option for those who don't have coverage. McCain wants a system that would offer stipends to help individuals buy insurance but also tax the stipend. Neither is the groundbreaking change we need.
Voters must realize this is not the John McCain of eight years ago, the "maverick" who often bucked GOP policies. Instead, McCain has become a successor to many failed Bush policies and Bush's world view.
McCain has dismissed common-sense calls by Obama for direct talks with many nations within Bush's infamous "Axis of Evil," proposals based on the premise that the nation loses nothing by talking first and saber-rattling later.
McCain -- famous for battling congressional "earmarks" -- has built his campaign around some of the top lobbyists in Washington, the very people who make a living off pork-barrel spending.
That's not McCain's only lapse. His choice of Sarah Palin as running mate was questionable. While Palin appeals to the GOP base, her knowledge of domestic and foreign policy issues is almost nonexistent. Even those who admire Palin must admit that for McCain to choose her to be a heartbeat away from the presidency of the United States after meeting her just twice is, at best, rash.
Obama is hardly everyone's choice, of course. The National Rifle Association has endorsed McCain and Palin and says Obama has a "radical record of opposition to our constitutional rights." McCain has been endorsed by four former Secretaries of State and 300 retired generals and admirals. Obama is pro-choice, McCain has been endorsed by Right to Life.
In the end, a president's judgment and character always count more than his foreign policy chops. While McCain has been known throughout his career for having a quick temper and a fighter pilot's inclination to act first, Obama has proven to be calm and thoughtful.
We need calm, we need thoughtful. We need someone to inspire the nation to great things and then unify us to achieve them.
BARACK OBAMA is that candidate.
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