Albany (NY) Times Union Endorses Hillary Clinton

For all the frequent consensus between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, they differ significantly on details, their approach to governing, and their experience. It's those differences that give Mrs. Clinton the decisive edge in the Democratic primary.

There is no question that Mr. Sanders has a long, consistent record of progressivism. The centerpieces of his campaign are a single-payer national health care system, free college education for all, breaking up big banks, higher taxes on Wall Street and the rich, and reining in the power of money in politics.

Beyond the cost of Mr. Sanders' ideas — which would add an estimated $15.3 trillion in spending over the next decade — are his prospects for achieving them. We've witnessed how Republicans in Congress have spent seven years trying to thwart President Barack Obama's more modest agenda. And first he has to get elected. Mr. Sanders' democratic socialist ideology will make him hard to sell — and easy to misrepresent and attack — in the general election.

Mrs. Clinton takes a more moderate, centrist approach while still espousing progressive values. Her plans take considerably less money — about $1.1 trillion over the next decade, raised mainly through higher taxes on the rich. She favors building on Obamacare, which has insured some 20 million more Americans so far. She prefers to target more college aid to those who need it. Like Mr. Sanders, she promotes more income equality, and a constitutional amendment that would allow more limits on campaign finance to reduce the influence of big money in politics.

As for the attacks she is likely to endure from Republicans, she's been weathering them for years, while the GOP hasn't even gotten started with Mr. Sanders. And her time as a U.S. senator from New York demonstrated she has the ability to work across the aisle.

http://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-opinion/article/Our-picks-Clinton-Kasich-7253183.php