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Decatur Daily Endorses Obama
October 20, 2008
Obama best choice to lead our nationThe Daily endorses Sen. Barack Obama for president of the United States.
Our decision did not come early. He lacks political experience, and his voting is more liberal than we would like. He has run a gauntlet since he announced his candidacy, though, and he has done so without flinching. Both in the Democratic primaries and since his nomination, he has handled false accusations and underhanded tactics without losing his cool, and without responding in kind.
The nation's economic crisis requires a leader with Mr. Obama's stability and intelligence. Sen. John McCain, despite his stellar service to his nation, comes up short for the challenges we face.
Even recently, Mr. McCain advocated, "opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking." He repeatedly demonstrates an inability to understand complex issues, and an ignorance of the plight of those who have not enjoyed his financial success.
Mr. Obama's proposals -- in health care, banking regulations, job creation and energy independence -- seek to maintain the enormous advantages of a free market while tempering its unfair impact on the middle class.
Mr. Obama's approach to the Iraq war -- a responsible withdrawal of our troops -- is the right one. The Bush administration last week negotiated a plan with the Iraqi government that was almost identical to the one proposed by Mr. Obama. Mr. McCain's insistence that we not leave without victory is irresponsible and financially disastrous because there is no way to define "victory" in Iraq.
Mr. Obama's efforts to help the middle class, branded socialism by his opponents, show considerable wisdom in light of the current financial mess. Faced with a crisis, the government has had to respond with a flood of cash that increases the income polarization of Americans. Mr. Obama's approach -- helping middle class families avoid foreclosures at the front end -- would have cost the nation less, helped those who needed it and possibly prevented the crisis entirely.
Mr. McCain offers few details on how we would prevent a repeat of our financial calamity, and even fewer on how he would deal with the mounting human and financial costs of the Iraq war. His proposals on health care, according to his own allies, would be disastrous.
President Bush's refusal to engage in talks with countries he branded "the axis of evil" has cost the nation dearly. Sen. Obama rejects this self-imposed isolationism, insisting that the need for dialogue is greatest with our enemies. Sen. McCain proudly insists he will continue President Bush's unfortunate legacy.
Mr. McCain's age and cancer history increase the importance of his vice-presidential nominee, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Typical of Mr. McCain's leadership approach, he had met Gov. Palin only once before selecting her as a running mate.
It was a bad choice. Gov. Palin is an excellent speaker, but she has displayed a remarkable inability to grasp the issues she would face as president. An independent commission concluded she had violated ethics laws in Alaska, yet she stubbornly insists the commission cleared her. She repeatedly raises her opposition to the "bridge to nowhere" as a sign of her fiscal conservatism, but she supported the expenditure.
Christopher Buckley, the conservative son of William F. Buckley, parted ways with Mr. McCain because of what he saw in Sen. Obama, "first-class temperament and first-class intellect." His words resonate:
"Obama has in him ... the potential to be a good, perhaps even great, leader. He is, it seems clear enough, what the historical moment seems to be calling for."