In the edition of Sunday, Feb. 10, The Plain Dealer makes its choices for the Ohio presidential primaries:

Democrats Republicans Obama: An optimistic approach unencumbered by the past McCain: A plain-spoken pragmatist who can build a coalition "Ohio Democrats have to ask themselves which candidate is more likely, first, to win the White House, and, then, to persuade a closely divided country to embrace his or her vision of change. Put even more pointedly: Who is more likely to change the world of a child born in 2008?



"The answer, we think, is Barack Obama." "Even before the winnowing of the GOP field began, McCain stood out as the party's most impressive presidential material and its most electable candidate.



"... Republicans here can steer their party away from those who have a death wish and focus it instead on the serious business of holding the White House in November." Read the whole editorial Read the whole editorial

The paper's editorial board interviewed three of the candidates by phone (its attempts to arrange an interview with Mike Huckabee were unsuccessful). You can hear what the paper asked them and how they answered in these audio interviews:

Clinton | Obama | McCain

Clinton interview Part 1:

Clinton interview Part 2:

Obama interview Part 1:

Obama interview Part 2:

McCain interview Part 1:

McCain interview Part 2:

For the Democrats: Obama

BARRING SOME UNFORESEEABLE EVENT, the Democratic Party is about to make history. Its presidential nominee this November will be either the first woman or the first African-American to carry the standard of a major political party. With the contest between Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois a virtual deadlock, Ohio Democrats on March 4 can play a critical role in this historic decision.

As usual with intraparty battles, the policy and ideological differences between Clinton and Obama are slight. Both share the party's liberal traditions on social and domestic issues. Both are committed to expanding health coverage and to closing the gap between rich and poor. Both oppose the Bush administration's strategy in Iraq. Both promise to break America's addiction to carbon-based fuels.

Given these similarities, Ohio Democrats have to ask themselves which candidate is more likely, first, to win the White House, and, then, to persuade a closely divided country to embrace his or her vision of change. Put even more pointedly: Who is more likely to change the world of a child born in 2008?

The answer, we think, is Barack Obama.

Although Obama stands on the precipice of a historic breakthrough, his personal story is a classic only-in-America saga: A white mother from Kansas. A black father from Kenya. A childhood in multi-ethnic Hawaii. Scholarships to Ivy League schools. Work as a community organizer and later a law professor in Chicago. Two terms in the Illinois Senate, then a landslide election to the U.S. Senate. An electrifying keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

That speech laid out the template for this campaign. He has challenged America to move beyond rigid racial, religious or partisan divides to focus instead on shared, national goals. It's a message that appeals to young voters and independents, to disillusioned Democrats eager to regain a sense of possibility and, yes, hope.

Obama's frequent talk of hope strikes some people as naive. It leads others to question his toughness. But Obama understands something his critics do not: Change requires vision and optimism, shared sacrifice and mutual trust. Hope can sustain those elements; a presidency defined by political tactics cannot.

Hillary Clinton is an exceptionally bright and accomplished woman. Only a fool could dispute that. It would be nice if Obama's policy proposals were as meaty as those she has put forward. It's no wonder she wants Democrats to see this race as a choice between resumes.

But in a campaign where history matters, she carries an inordinate amount of baggage. Who wants to relive the soap operas of the 1990s?

Bill Clinton says his wife excelled at "making positive changes in other people's lives." Consider that construction. Then listen as Obama talks of bringing people together to change their own lives.

America needs a fresh start. Barack Obama is the Democrat to provide it.



For the Republicans: McCain

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY has been running presidential candidates since 1856. In all that time, it has never elected one who failed to carry Ohio. Even today, the party's strategists cannot construct a realistic blueprint for winning 270 electoral votes without picking up 20 here.

Because neither the Democrats nor the Republicans enjoy majority status, independents decide elections in Ohio. That means you don't win here by driving people out of your party's tent. You win by inviting them in.

That's worth remembering as some very prominent, very conservative Republicans nationally bemoan the fact that Sen. John McCain of Arizona is now the odds-on favorite to be their presidential nominee. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney recognized that fact on Thursday and suspended his campaign. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee soldiers on, but his is largely a regional candidacy based on support from a core GOP constituency: religious conservatives. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas also remains in the race, but no amount of Internet chatter can conceal the fact that his libertarian, isolationist bent represents a tiny sliver of the Republican Party.

The likelihood of a McCain nomination ought to please Republicans of every stripe. Even before the winnowing of the GOP field began, McCain stood out as the party's most impressive presidential material and its most electable candidate.

Americans of any party or ideology cannot help but admire McCain's service to this country, including 51/2 years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. The scars he carries give him extra credence when he talks about the uses and limits of military power and about America's role in the world. A president may have to make split-second decisions on matters of national security; McCain has shown steel under the greatest pressures imaginable.

Then, too, there is his admirable willingness to work with allies wherever he finds them -- even among Democrats in the Senate. This infuriates some conservatives, but McCain's ability to form coalitions would serve him and the country well as president. Ronald Reagan, whom GOP contenders feel duty-bound to salute at every turn, was a master of cobbling together unlikely majorities and of accepting half a loaf if that's all he had the votes to win. McCain embodies the blend of principle and pragmatism that made Reagan so effective.

Make no mistake. McCain has a very conservative voting record. He's a maverick, not a moderate, no matter what Tom DeLay, Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter might say. But in an era of carefully programmed politicians, McCain also is a throwback. He says what he thinks. He gets mad in public. He refuses to toe the party line -- even his own party's.

That kind of Republican wins in Ohio. By voting for John McCain on March 4, Republicans here can steer their party away from those who have a death wish and focus it instead on the serious business of holding the White House in November.



Participating in The Plain Dealer endorsement deliberations were Publisher Terrance C.Z. Egger, Editor Susan Goldberg, Editorial Page Director Brent Larkin, Deputy Editorial Page Director Kevin O'Brien and Associate Editors Sharon Broussard, Joseph Frolik, Becky Gaylord and Elizabeth Sullivan.