For many, this campaign season has come down to casting a vote for the candidate one dislikes the least.

For us, the choice isn’t between the proverbial lesser of two evils. The choice is between voting for someone committed to a life of public service who has the experience, the intelligence and the temperament to lead the nation versus someone who is committed only to himself, who lies constantly and who regularly displays a lack of self-control.





Throughout this presidential campaign, from the primaries to this moment, Democrat Hillary Clinton has distinguished herself from her opponents by putting forth detailed and realistic policy proposals that answer this county’s most fundamental challenges, from the growing cost of attending college to the addiction epidemic to a woefully inequitable tax system.

Among those who have worked with her, Clinton is widely recognized as a policy wonk who cares deeply about details, about using research to guide policymaking, and about collecting input from — and challenging — a variety of experts in crafting proposals. Her economic policies reflect her refusal to settle for simple answers and to view the world in one dimension.

The result is a package of policies that a team of Moody’s Analytics economists projected would add 3.2 million jobs to the economy above current projections by the end of Clinton’s first four years. The benefits of Clinton’s policies, the economists said, would flow largely to low- and middle-income households. In contrast, according to Moody’s, the U.S. economy under Donald Trump’s plan would be 3.5 million jobs smaller than today’s.

Clinton is the best suited to see her agenda through Congress. Her record from eight years as a senator from New York shows that she fights hard for her constituents, forges the working relationships she needs to in order to produce results big and small, and shares the credit.

“I found that when it came to New York and pothole issues, if you had a bona fide issue and you wanted help to get the job done, she was willing to listen and to work on it,” former Rep. Tom Reynolds, a New York Republican, told NPR in April.

“I had an excellent working relationship with her,” Rep. Peter King, another New York Republican, told NPR. “She was on speed dial.”

Clinton can point to a lengthy record of delivering results. As first lady, she played a crucial role in crafting and ensuring passage of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which today insures more than 8 million children. After the new program became law, she led the drive to enroll more children.

As a senator, she started working immediately after the 9/11 attacks to direct federal aid to New York City so it could recover. Her work also resulted in health benefits for the emergency responders who worked for weeks at Ground Zero following the attacks.

As secretary of state, Clinton worked to build the support needed — including from Russia and China — to impose more stringent sanctions on Iran. Those same sanctions later offered the U.S. and its partners key leverage in negotiating last year’s Iran nuclear deal, the terms of which cut off the possibility of Iran developing a nuclear weapon using plutonium for at least 15 years.

Clinton’s extensive record and her detailed campaign proposals paint the picture of someone who is committed to using government to make a positive difference in people’s lives, while doing so in a fiscally responsible way that allows the economy to flourish and lets as many people as possible share in the benefits.

The former secretary of state has exhibited lapses in judgment during her career — supporting President George W. Bush’s Iraq war during her time in the Senate and using a private email server during her time as secretary of state — and her time in public life has been bedeviled by the aura of scandal. But those supposed scandals — whether security lapses at a diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, or favoritism at the State Department for Clinton Foundation donors — have all proven to lack substance.

Clinton has struggled to build enthusiasm for her candidacy this year. Third-party candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein have, to some extent, been the beneficiaries of this enthusiasm deficit. But neither even approaches Clinton in terms of resume and knowledge.

Knowledge matters. Temperament matters. Vision matters.

Clinton has all of the above, and she would serve as president with distinction. We are proud to support her historic candidacy.