Experience should matter. That’s why we are endorsing Sen. Hillary Clinton for president on the Democratic ticket and Sen. John McCain on the Republican side, in Tuesday’s Alabama primary.
Why Clinton?
Our nation is at a critical crossroads with wars raging in Iraq and Afghanistan and a fragile economy teetering on the edge of decline. Ahead, an aging population will take its toll on an unprepared nation, and the security of that nation faces far too many threats.
Health care costs are continuing to surge, leaving millions of Americans with little alternative but to go without.
It is on those major issues that we base our endorsement of Clinton. We believe she has the right plan for America that convinces us she is the right woman for the job.
While the words of her opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, may inspire us, it is Clinton’s record of action that inspires us more.
Beginning in Arkansas, where her husband was governor, it was Hillary Clinton who worked both sides of the aisle to get needed bills passed to move that state forward.
She chaired that state’s education standards committee, which led to the most sweeping reforms in Arkansas history.
Her work over the years on women’s rights, children’s issues and the needs of senior citizens is a lesson in experience that shows her true understanding of the plight of real America.
Her universal health insurance plan covers all who need it while allowing those who are satisfied with their current plan to stay with it. Obama’s plan does not go far enough.
Clinton’s voting record in the Senate on homeland security measures, like cargo inspection for passenger aircraft, and the creation of an oversight group to ensure rights of privacy are protected in this country, underscore her readiness for the presidency.
She served as first lady during some of the best economic years America has seen. And we believe those years in the White House shaped her view of the presidency and how it can best serve this nation.
In Iraq, America needs a way out to let Iraqis stand on their own. Clinton has the plan to do just that, withdrawing troops — not in a cut and run — but in a sensible transition of power, rather than an open-ended sacrifice of American lives.
Clinton has the experience, the understanding and the history of action to get the job done. And it is for those reasons we heartily endorse her candidacy.
Why McCain?
Sen. John McCain, the naval hero whose courage inspires all who hear his story as a tortured prisoner of war in Vietnam, took those instincts of survival and courage to Congress.
Now he wants to take them to the presidency.
And we think his record of service to country, his principled convictions and his vast experience in both domestic and foreign affairs as a 21-year senator and 4-year congressman should earn him the Republican nomination.
He has not been afraid to take on the status quo, pushing for ethics in campaign finance reform for the nation’s lawmakers.
From the beginning of the war in Iraq, it was McCain who said if Americans go, they should go with full force. And he was right. The Bush Administration’s far less-than-decisive show of force proved costly for American soldiers and the length of this war.
His fiscal stand on not cutting taxes unless federal spending is under control shows he is not only aware that this country cannot keep running up debt without critical consequences on generations to come, he backs it up with his vote.
McCain’s leadership in the Senate and his ability to find bi-partisan, common ground cast him in a more presidential light, because it will take that ability to bring opposing factions together to move the country forward.
He takes a realist view of the illegal immigration crisis in this country and supports tighter border security and a guest worker program with a path to citizenship provided they meet stringent requirements.
In this time of a rush to justify the inhumane treatment of prisoners of war, McCain stood strong, calling it torture when it was torture and joining with those across the aisle to condemn it.
His own experience and his strong defense stands give him the perspective needed to be the commander-in-chief.
While we may not agree with all of his ideas, the core of McCain’s experience and beliefs makes him the better choice for the presidential nomination in the Republican Primary.
