[Vision2020] Alaska's Largest Paper Endorses Obama

[Chasuk]

Anchorage Daily News

http://www.adn.com/opinion/story/567867.html

Alaska enters its 50th-anniversary year in the glow of an improbable
and highly memorable event: the nomination of Gov. Sarah Palin as the
Republican vice presidential candidate. For the first time ever, an
Alaskan is making a serious bid for national office, and in doing so
she brings broad attention and recognition not only to herself, but
also to the state she leads.

Alaska's founders were optimistic people, but even the most farsighted
might have been stretched to imagine this scenario. No matter the
outcome in November, this election will mark a signal moment in the
history of the 49th state. Many Alaskans are proud to see their
governor, and their state, so prominent on the national stage.

Gov. Palin's nomination clearly alters the landscape for Alaskans as
we survey this race for the presidency -- but it does not overwhelm
all other judgment. The election, after all is said and done, is not
about Sarah Palin, and our sober view is that her running mate, Sen.
John McCain, is the wrong choice for president at this critical time
for our nation.

Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, brings far more promise to
the office. In a time of grave economic crisis, he displays thoughtful
analysis, enlists wise counsel and operates with a cool, steady hand.
The same cannot be said of Sen. McCain.

Since his early acknowledgement that economic policy is not his strong
suit, Sen. McCain has stumbled and fumbled badly in dealing with the
accelerating crisis as it emerged. He declared that "the fundamentals
of our economy are strong" at 9 a.m. one day and by 11 a.m. was
describing an economy in crisis. He is both a longtime advocate of
less market regulation and a supporter of the huge taxpayer-funded
Wall Street bailout. His behavior in this crisis -- erratic is a kind
description -- shows him to be ill-equipped to lead the essential
effort of reining in a runaway financial system and setting an anxious
nation on course to economic recovery.

Sen. Obama warned regulators and the nation 19 months ago that the
subprime lending crisis was a disaster in the making. Sen. McCain
backed tighter rules for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but didn't do
much to advance that legislation. Of the two candidates, Sen. Obama
better understands the mortgage meltdown's root causes and has the
judgment and intelligence to shape a solution, as well as the
leadership to rally the country behind it. It is easy to look at Sen.
Obama and see a return to the smart, bipartisan economic policies of
the last Democratic administration in Washington, which left the
country with the momentum of growth and a budget surplus that
President George Bush has squandered.

On the most important issue of the day, Sen. Obama is a clear choice.

Sen. McCain describes himself as a maverick, by which he seems to mean
that he spent 25 years trying unsuccessfully to persuade his own party
to follow his bipartisan, centrist lead. Sadly, maverick John McCain
didn't show up for the campaign. Instead we have candidate McCain, who
embraces the extreme Republican orthodoxy he once resisted and
cynically asks Americans to buy for another four years.

It is Sen. Obama who truly promises fundamental change in Washington.
You need look no further than the guilt-by-association lies and
sound-bite distortions of the degenerating McCain campaign to see how
readily he embraces the divisive, fear-mongering tactics of Karl Rove.
And while Sen. McCain points to the fragile success of the troop surge
in stabilizing conditions in Iraq, it is also plain that he was
fundamentally wrong about the more crucial early decisions. Contrary
to his assurances, we were not greeted as liberators; it was not a
short, easy war; and Americans -- not Iraqi oil -- have had to pay for
it. It was Sen. Obama who more clearly saw the danger ahead.

The unqualified endorsement of Sen. Obama by a seasoned, respected
soldier and diplomat like Gen. Colin Powell, a Republican icon, should
reassure all Americans that the Democratic candidate will pass muster
as commander in chief.

On a matter of parochial interest, Sen. Obama opposes the opening of
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but so does Sen. McCain. We think
both are wrong, and hope a President Obama can be convinced to support
environmentally responsible development of that resource.

Gov. Palin has shown the country why she has been so successful in her
young political career. Passionate, charismatic and indefatigable, she
draws huge crowds and sows excitement in her wake. She has made it
clear she's a force to be reckoned with, and you can be sure
politicians and political professionals across the country have taken
note. Her future, in Alaska and on the national stage, seems certain
to be played out in the limelight.

Yet despite her formidable gifts, few who have worked closely with the
governor would argue she is truly ready to assume command of the most
important, powerful nation on earth. To step in and juggle the demands
of an economic meltdown, two deadly wars and a deteriorating climate
crisis would stretch the governor beyond her range. Like picking Sen.
McCain for president, putting her one 72-year-old heartbeat from the
leadership of the free world is just too risky at this time.