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Hillary Clinton delivers a speech in Detroit during the campaign.

(Tanya Moutzalias)

This is the opinion of the MLive Editorial Board.

The sheer noise of this presidential campaign has felt deafening at times. But amid the cacophony, this much is clear: Democrat Hillary Clinton is the best choice.

She is eminently qualified. Before ever taking public office, she was a Yale Law School graduate, children's rights advocate and first lady of Arkansas and America, a role she transformed in the era of women's rights.

Now, she's the first woman to ever get a major party nomination. We think that's something to applaud in itself.

Clinton didn't hesitate to jump into public office as soon as former President Bill Clinton's two terms were up. She became a popular U.S. senator who helped guide her home state of New York through the aftermath of 9/11. As Secretary of State, she met and negotiated with leaders of countries all over the world.

This blend of experience in both domestic and foreign affairs is well-suited to the presidency. Despite some mistakes - the use of a private email server, for instance - the 10 newsrooms that comprise MLive Media Group across the state believe she is the best candidate to move the country forward after this sour and divisive campaign.

America finds itself in a troubled world. Conflict abounds in the Middle East, ever threatening to spill into our own borders. Clinton is the tough, experienced and pragmatic leader we need to confront such potentially dire situations. She understands best how to deal with ISIS, Syria and Iran having witnessed the challenges up close and personal during her tenure as Secretary of State.

Here at home, many people are struggling to prosper, to find the types of jobs to sustain themselves and a family. Wages have stagnated as the cost of living skyrocketed. The manufacturing jobs that kept food on Michigan tables for decades continue to be replaced by automation or moved overseas. Clinton has fought for working families all her life and has addressed these issues on the campaign trail, pledging to provide tax relief to the middle class and investing $10 billion to bolster American manufacturing.

We're well aware of Clinton's flaws, too. Regardless of your opinion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the way she came to her current stance on it can only be taken as a good old-fashioned political flip-flop. And the activities over at the Clinton Foundation - while not ever technically crossing into quid pro quo territory - are unsettling.

Then there's much-ballyhooed Benghazi and email controversies. As for Benghazi, we think her Republican opponents are unfairly trying to politicize the tragic deaths of Americans in the Libyan terrorist attack because of Clinton's famous last name and political ambitions. It's doubtful if this type of merciless scrutiny would occur under a different Secretary of State, Republican or Democrat.

The email situation is not as easy to dismiss as a partisan attack. The use of a private email server for top secret business was risky and irresponsible. We are for transparency at all levels of government - but we also know sensitive documents should be protected to keep us safe. Clinton was trying to shield her emails from both the media and her political enemies by using the private server. She wasn't forthcoming when it was exposed, and she has been apologetic but evasive since. But did it rise to the level of a crime? The Federal Bureau of Investigation said no.



Still, the decision to endorse Clinton was easy considering the superior qualifications she has in comparison with her opponent. It comes down to this: A Donald Trump presidency is dangerous.

As promised, the Republican candidate has broken all the rules of politics - but also any sense of decorum and civility along the way. The despicable things he's said about women and minorities, not to mention the sexual assault allegations, reveal character we would not value in anyone, let alone the leader of a nation that prides itself on freedom and equality.

We appreciate the notion of bringing outsider energy to Washington to try and change all that ails us: congressional gridlock, special interests, Wall Street skullduggery and a host of other problems. For many Americans, Clinton represents this Establishment.

But it's abundantly clear Trump is not the agent of positive change our nation seeks. He is woefully unqualified and has divided our nation with his ugly rhetoric, egging people on to take sides and distrust the very system itself. He wants to build walls, not bridges. As president, he would only try to widen that gulf.

We feel our leaders should bring us together. Clinton has a history of reaching across the aisle as a U.S. senator and building solid relationships with Republicans. We feel she is the only candidate who will represent all Americans, whether they don't like her personally or disagree with her policies.

This has been an emotional election for both sides. We hope Clinton's steadiness will have a stabilizing effect and re-summon our faith in the grand democratic traditions and political civility that have made America great.

It's been hard to remember that we are truly all in this together, and that our government isn't some foreign entity, but there to serve us.

We feel Hillary Clinton would serve us admirably.