[Vision2020] ADN: Obama for president

[Saundra Lund]

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

Obama for president
Palin's rise captivates us but nation needs a steady hand
(10/25/08 19:37:58) 

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.