Editorial: Obama for president

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This year's presidential election has electrified the nation â and younger voters in particular â in a way not seen since Bill Clinton's first run for the White House in 1992.

It's an apt comparison; Clinton, a relative outsider lacking Washington experience, unseated the established incumbent, President George H.W. Bush, in large part due to nervous voters' desire for new footing in troubled economic times.

While Sen. John McCain's no incumbent, his very deliberate move to side with his former primary rival following George W. Bush's election in 2000 has allowed the campaign of Sen. Barack Obama to quite accurately paint the alleged "maverick" as a faithful Bush acolyte.

Change has become the buzzword of this election, thanks to Obama's hard-fought ascension â so much so that D.C. insider McCain, a member of Congress since 1982, has tried to co-opt the mantle as his own.

But if the polls are to be believed, more and more voters are seeing through that, siding â as we plainly do â with the Illinois senator as the best hope for America's future.

While we certainly don't believe that Obama will usher in a revolutionary wave of transformation to the nation's capitol, we do believe his steady, calm leadership is vital both as this nation steers its way through a potentially crippling economic crisis and attempts to extract itself from an ill-advised war in Iraq.

We greatly prefer Obama's policies on a variety of issues, including a measured extraction of American forces from Iraq; more aggressively pursuing higher fuel efficiency standards and greater production of hybrid vehicles; and providing universal health care through government intervention, not relying on the free market to do so.

When it comes to the current economic morass, both candidates are pushing plans that cut taxes in opposite directions. McCain's $52.5 billion stimulus plan favors traditional trickle-down economics, cutting taxes more favorably for big business and the rich. Obama's proposal more wisely targets tax breaks on those who need it most â the poorest Americans.

In the end, McCain's been his own worst enemy on the campaign trail, offering a glimpse into what a potential presidency might be like: He's relied on cheap political stunts (selecting a grossly unqualified running mate, abruptly "suspending" his campaign and attempting to back out of his first debate with Obama) and unleashed a torrent of negative, misleading and sometimes flat-out inaccurate attacks on his rival. None of it bodes well for a McCain presidency.

Instead, it's quite clear that Barack Obama is the best choice to succeed George W. Bush and attempt to restore America's standing in the world, its role as an international leader â not bully â and, most importantly, help steer the country out of its mounting economic woes.

We urge our readers to vote Obama.