The Santa Fe New Mexican: Neither he nor John McCain alone can overcome the many challenges facing our next president – but already he has surrounded himself with people we can trust to help him right today’s dangerously tossed ship of state. (Oct. 4)
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Despite the recent nastiness of his campaign. Sen. McCain is essentially a good man, but he is yesterday’s man. His campaign takes its core text from the “Wizard of Oz”: Don’t mind the man behind the curtain. That man is George Bush, the failed magician who cannot be spoken of lest the American people be reminded of what he has wrought and what party he belongs to.To make their trick work, Mr. McCain and his running mate, Gov. Palin, trade heavily on being mavericks — too heavily to be believed. (Oct. 12)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: These times demand steady, focused leadership. Leadership that takes America far from the policies that have created so much fear. Leadership that says it’s OK to hope, because hope properly directed yields results. Barack Obama is ready to provide that leadership. (Oct. 17)
The Denver Post: Republicans love to mock Obama’s history as a community organizer. But here was a man with no money to offer, no patronage to dispense, no way to punish his opponents. All he could do was to work with people from all walks of life, liberals and conservatives, business people and the unemployed, and bring them together in common cause for a better community. Could there really be better preparation to reunite a worried and divided America to again pursue our “more perfect union”? (Oct. 17)
The Des Moines (Iowa) Register: Neither Obama nor McCain is an expert on the economy. But Obama appropriately places emphasis on strengthening the middle class. And as a state senator in Illinois, in the U.S. Senate and through the rigors of the campaign, he has shown a willingness to seek others’ advice, listen and strive for consensus – crucial characteristics in troubled times. (Oct. 25)
The Times-Picayune (La.): The image of the United States abroad has suffered, largely as a result of the war in Iraq. Still, there is a huge reservoir of good will toward this country. The world looks on in awe as America, which believes that humble circumstances, class and race should never trump intelligence and hard work, considers the possible election of an African-American man as president. We believe that Barack Obama could help restore our reputation as a land of opportunity. But that benefit is dwarfed by a larger potential that we think an Obama presidency could achieve: Seizing the chance for America to lead and, at a time