'The Economist' Endorses Obama

By: Dexter Hill The Obama campaign has a wide lead in our daily editorial endorsements tally, but one of his latest endorsements places the U.S. presidential race in the international spotlight. The Economist, the much-heralded (and now exactly leftwing) UK-based weekly that circulates in more than 200 countries, has urged Americans to vote Sen. Obama "the next leader of the free world."

Earlier, the Financial Times also endorsed Obama.

The endorsement cited the slowing economy as a key factor in this year's
national election. With the Bush Administration leaving office during an
economic downturn despite entering office during a budget surplus, the
editorial argued that the next administration must take the nation in a new direction. It supports Sen. Obama as the candidate who can lead the charge for change. "The Democratic candidate has clearly shown that he offers the better chance of restoring America's self-confidence," the endorsement read.

The Economist did not endorse Sen. McCain, in part, because of his
performance during this campaign. "The fiscal conservative who once tackled Mr Bush over his unaffordable tax cuts now proposes not just to keep the cuts, but to deepen them. The man who denounced the religious right as 'agents of intolerance' now embraces theocratic culture warriors. The campaigner against ethanol subsidies (who had a better record on global warming than most Democrats) came out in favour of a petrol-tax holiday," the endorsement read.

The editorial also criticized the Republican candidate for choosing Sarah
Palin as his running mate. In addition to her gaffes these past couple of
months, it faulted the senator for making his decision after meeting the
Alaska governor "just twice."

Sen. Obama is also criticized in the endorsement, citing his lack of
executive experience and fears that he may lean too far to the political
left as hurdles he must overcome in order to have an effective presidency.
The editorial argues that if his campaign is any sign of how he will govern,
Sen. Obama would surely live up to his presidential responsibilities.
"Whether he can fulfil his immense potential remains to be seen. But Mr
Obama deserves the presidency," according to the editorial.