Two Wisconsin papers endorse Obama

Excerpts from the latest Wisconsin newspaper endorsements of the presidential candidates, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.

 

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The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in an editorial set for publication on Oct. 26:

 

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.

 

Who is the real Obama? …

 

Obama is the candidate who recognized early the folly of invading Iraq and, earlier than McCain, spoke out because Afghanistan was spinning out of control.

 

McCain, an early supporter of the invasion, was later a critic of how the war was being waged, supporting a surge that Obama opposed. But McCain now fails to recognize that Americans want something different than his open-ended approach. …

 

And he also has squandered his claim to one of his supposed assets – his experience, as a military man and member of Congress for 26 years. Simply, he has displayed deplorable judgment in key instances that call into question the value of his overall judgment.

 

In Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the 72-year-old candidate with a history of melanoma picked a woefully unqualified running mate – as she continues to prove day after day. And both he and she have conducted a campaign that has careened from inept to offensive.

 

In Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, Obama picked a vice president with foreign policy credentials to serve in the event of tragedy, not just a running mate to score political points.

 

The non-issue of William Ayers has become a centerpiece of McCain’s campaign while Palin talks as if the only real Americans live in red-state small towns (something she was forced to apologize for) and falsely smears Obama for “palling around with terrorists.” …

 

It is Obama, in his first term as a U.S. senator, who offers the freshest face of change. He, more than McCain, offers the best chance for instilling in Americans a new sense of unity and purpose and restoring the image abroad of an America as worthy as its ideals.

 

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The Chippewa Herald in an editorial for Oct. 26:

 

Every four years we hear how the presidential election is pivotal, one of the most important in history. By now the refrain should be too old to garner much attention.

 

Only this time, there is a very real sense in America that this election is indeed historic and pivotal. Americans feel the need for new leadership, a renewal of our national spirit, and a desperate need to pull together in tough times.

 

This election is about such needs, not individual planks in a campaign platform. That’s why the Herald endorses Barack Obama for president. …

 

America needs to move away from the Bush model of foreign policy marked by confrontation and aggressive use of American military power and toward a policy based on diplomacy backed by strength. America needs a government that takes seriously its role of “referee” in the free market, protecting against abuses and exploitation while at the same time not stifling entrepreneurial spirit.

 

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.