NC, Asheville Citizen Times

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Nation clearly needs change; Obama is better-suited...Historians may one day look back and say this election was a turning point, the time when America sealed its fate as a nation in decline or when democracy and capitalism prevailed and the nation reinvented itself.

The nominees - Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona - offer voters very different approaches to leadership and to solving the problems that face the country.

Those who know him say Obama is a disciplined, deliberative person who has a distaste for theatrics and who remains unruffled under pressure.

By contrast, McCain's temper is well documented, as is his propensity to alienate even fellow Republicans by his aggressive and sometimes profane style of confrontation during disagreements.

Obama's tax proposals are more favorable to the beleaguered middle class, his energy policies more likely to result in job creation and eventual energy independence and his plan to address the health care crisis more likely to result in a healthier nation. We believe his temperament and approach to issues represent the nation's best hope for addressing the gargantuan challenges that await the next president.

McCain, a brave warrior and a dedicated, lifelong public servant, has surrounded himself with advisers who fail to recognize the urgency to make fundamental policy changes, instead harkening back to failed tax and energy strategies. In a dangerous world increasingly bound together by a global economy, McCain's choice for vice president, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, feisty as she is, does not have the requisite exposure to foreign affairs to take the reins of government should McCain become incapacitated or die in office.

By contrast, Obama's proposals represent a clearer-eyed recognition of the crises that face America and the changes that must be made if we are toreverse an unsustainable course. His choice for vice president, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, a 26-year veteran in the Senate who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, clearly has the credentials to be president should the need arise.

America can't afford to muddle through another four years. We are near thetipping point in too many areas vital to our future as a nation. We need the steadiness, the sound judgment and the approach to problem-solving that Barack Obama and Joe Biden would bring.