Obama for president - Akron Beacon Journal

Source: Akron Beacon Journal

Obama for president
Yes, change — for the better at home and abroad

Published on Sunday, Oct 19, 2008


Barack Obama calls for change. So does John McCain. Each has spent the past year or more attempting to define his version. What deserves at least a moment of attention in this grueling presidential race is that both promise a welcome departure from the incumbent, a change from the misguided ways of George W. Bush, his presidency having eroded deeply the country's influence and stature abroad, his approach at home similarly harmful, in the divisiveness, the overreaching and the neglect of the country's finances.

So, yes, change, by all means, and the candidate who has articulated more clearly and persuasively the course the country should follow is Barack Obama. His presence at the head of the Democratic ticket is historic, to say the least, the first black man to stand at the cusp of capturing the White House. How solid his campaign has been, the organization, grit and, most important, the direction and themes.

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What appeals about Obama is his tone and understanding about how to advance American interests. John McCain mocks Obama for appearing too eager to engage the likes of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran. Listen carefully, and you won't hear Obama pushing something careless. He has surveyed the past eight years and recognized that attempting simply to isolate and punish adversaries is counterproductive in today's complex and interconnected world. You engage to force hard choices. You listen to gain respect and build influence.

In the 2000 campaign, George W. Bush talked about the value of humility in foreign policy. Too bad he abandoned the thought. Barack Obama rightly has picked up the banner, aware such an enlightened posture promises to make a superpower stronger.



Read more: http://www.ohio.com/editorial/endorsements/31244734.html

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From that wonderful paper whose Washington Bureau reporters actually researched and published stories that discredited the cause for war in 2003. I put in the excerpt about foreign policy that I thought was most important.

the Akron Beacon Journal and Cleveland Plain Dealer endorsing Obama. I figured the Columbus Dispatch would lean toward McCain.