The Bee Recommends: Obama
He could bridge political dividesPublished 12:00 am PST Saturday, January 19, 2008
Story appeared in FORUM section, Page E6
Barack Obama, in contrast, would be a fresh face with a new approach and no old scores to settle. His ascension would represent a clean break with the generation that has fought and re-fought the Vietnam War and the cultural upheavals that wracked the 1960s.
As a former community organizer, civil rights lawyer and state legislator, Obama is familiar with real issues people face, and he has worked to solve them on the ground. As president, he says, he would cross party lines to find solutions to the nation's most vexing problems, from health care to global warming. There is reason to believe he could do that. His inspiring personal story and his communications skills could nudge Americans of all ages, but especially the young, to give more of themselves to aid the less fortunate in their communities.
Unlike Clinton, Obama was an early opponent of the war in Iraq, because he thought it was a strategic blunder that would only hurt the United States. His credibility on that issue would position him well to end the occupation quickly while also giving him the flexibility to extend it if necessary to avoid shedding the blood of more innocent Iraqis.
Obama's lack of experience at the highest levels of government might lead to mistakes. But that risk is smaller, in our view, than the benefit of moving on from the Bushes and the Clintons, who have been in the White House for longer than some young voters have been alive. That is why Obama is the best choice for the Democratic nomination for president.
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