Editorial: For president
Friday, October 17, 2008
On Nov. 4, North Carolina voters will head to the polls for the general election. The Daily Reflector will recommend candidates in races prior to that vote, and today focuses on the presidency.
For U.S. Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain, the campaign for the White House required an exhausting, grueling process spanning nearly two years. It necessitated an overwhelming investment of resources reflecting the high stakes and tremendous opportunity this election represents.
As Americans choose their next president, they should take careful measure of the candidates and determine which can chart the best course over the next four years. In doing so, American voters should conclude that Obama, the Democratic senator from Illinois, will be the leader of vision, intellect and temperament the nation needs.
Though style and flash always weigh heavily on presidential campaigns in the modern era, Americans look to the issues as they thoughtfully weigh the decision before them. And this year, Obama bests McCain on the most daunting challenges now facing the country.
Economic turbulence can be calmed through the sound fiscal policy Obama promotes. His tax plan moves the country away from the reckless budgets of the Bush administration and divides financial burden in a more equitable manner. McCain, conversely, would extend excessively large tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans passed at Bush's insistence in 2001, driving the nation further into debt.
On health care, Obama's plan would go further than McCain's proposal to provide coverage for the 47 million uninsured Americans by allowing them access to a federal system used by members of Congress. Independent reviews call it a more thorough and affordable plan.
On foreign policy, Obama wants to shift the military focus from Iraq to Afghanistan, a move that would ratchet up pressure on the al-Qaida leadership responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the Taliban forces that protect them. He argues that diplomatic negotiations with all nations foster a safer world, and that the country's strength lies not only in its military might but in its compassion toward those oppressed by tyrants.
Obama argues a more thoughtful approach to energy independence, one that invests in renewable energy sources and limits a reliance on fossil fuels in general and foreign oil in particular. And on a host of other issues — from ensuring the solvency of Social Security to the need for comprehensive, rational immigration reform — his positions represent the type of progressive leadership that can restore confidence in the leadership of the White House.
Obama has been dismissed by opponents as little more than an exemplary orator, a man with limited political experience who is unprepared for the challenges ahead. He has been the subject of blatant falsehoods about his religious background and attacked as a radical leftist with dangerous associates.
But Obama has responded by relentlessly seeking to raise the level of public discourse and by focusing on the path toward an America that lives up to its promise as the greatest, most prosperous nation in history. His potential for achieving that outweighs McCain's.
The United States needs a new start with leaders capable of bringing innovative solutions to the troubling challenges that face this nation. For those reasons, the country needs Barack Obama as its president.
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