A major Iowa newspaper gave its endorsement to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonButtigieg stands in as Pence for Harris's debate practice Senate GOP sees early Supreme Court vote as political booster shot Poll: 51 percent of voters want to abolish the electoral college MORE Saturday.

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“For those who believe America should be a beacon of a hope in a world ravaged by terrorism, that it should be a force for good and that its leaders should embody all that is best about this nation, there is only one choice for president: Hillary Clinton,” the paper’s editorial board wrote.

The paper said Clinton’s critics are right when they say she’s too secretive and distrustful of the press and the public, but it said that her pursuit of a political career in light of these characteristics — and endless political attacks — show she chose “the path of greatest resistance.”

It lauded her contributions to children’s healthcare, health benefits for 9/11 first responders and foreign policy.

The case for Clinton could easily be made, the paper wrote, even if her Republican rival wasn’t Donald Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE, who has little foreign policy experience and few political allies.

It criticized Trump for not surrounding himself with people more knowledgable, saying that his Cabinet would likely be “a coterie of like-minded hand puppets.”

And “one-dimensional thinking” is unprecedented, they said, and the qualities that have propelled Trump to the nomination would be “crippling liabilities” once in the Oval Office.

“Trump mocks the disabled, denigrates prisoners of war, objectifies women, brags about his anatomy on national television and, if his own boastful comments are to be believed, indulges in criminal, predatory behavior. Then he looks at America and asserts, as he did in Nevada just two weeks ago, 'I am a reflection of you,' " the editorial read. “It’s up to each of us, as voters, to disprove that statement and proclaim to the world, 'We are better than that.' "

“Democracy itself is threatened when its care is entrusted to individuals who are neither statesman nor thinkers and who would abuse the powers of their office to silence opposition and retaliate against their political opponents," the paper said.

A RealClearPolitics average of polls puts Trump ahead of Clinton by about 4 points in Iowa.