The Register's editorial

Many of her ideas aren't radical. They are right.

She must show that her vision will lift people up rather than divide them.

She cares about people, and she will use her seemingly endless energy and passion to fight for them.

The outstanding caliber of Democratic candidates makes it difficult to choose just one.

No wonder Iowa Democrats are unsettled.

Each of the remaining candidates campaigning across Iowa ahead of the caucuses could make a fine president. Each would be more inclusive and thoughtful than the current occupant of the White House. Each would treat truth as something that matters. Each would conduct foreign policy by coalition building rather than by whim and tweet.

The outstanding caliber of Democratic candidates makes it difficult to choose just one.

But ultimately Iowa caucusgoers need to do that. Who would make the best president at this point in the country’s history? At a time when the economic deck has become so stacked against working Americans that the gap between rich and poor is the highest in more than 50 years? At a time when a generation of war has stressed military families and sapped the treasury?

The Des Moines Register editorial board endorses Elizabeth Warren in the 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses as the best leader for these times.

MORE ON THE ENDORSEMENT: The board's thoughts on others in the field

WHY WE ENDORSE:Opinion editor explains the purpose of today's editorial

The senior U.S. senator from Massachusetts is not the radical some perceive her to be. She was a registered Republican until 1996. She is a capitalist. “I love what markets can do,” she said. “They are what make us rich, they are what create opportunity.”

But she wants fair markets, with rules and accountability. She wants a government that works for people, not one corrupted by cash.

A former Harvard professor and expert in bankruptcy law, she helped set up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The agency was specifically designed to prevent a repeat of the banking crisis and look out for little guys swindled by lenders and credit card companies.

She believes government should actively work to prevent and respond to abusive practices that jeopardize individuals and the country’s economy.

Warren doesn’t measure the health of the economy by looking at the stock market or an unemployment rate that doesn’t count the longtime jobless or chronically underemployed. She measures it by how working families are doing. Many are not doing well, and Warren seeks major reforms to help them.

A qualification: Some of her ideas for “big, structural change” go too far. This board could not endorse the wholesale overhaul of corporate governance or cumulative levels of taxation she proposes. While the board has long supported single-payer health insurance, it believes a gradual transition is the more realistic approach. But Warren is pushing in the right direction.

She believes access to health care is a human right.

She would make climate change a top priority and use her executive power to roll back Trump administration policies that prop up fossil fuels.

She says corporations should have less Washington influence, children should be protected from gun violence, child care should be affordable, immigrants deserve compassion, mass incarceration should end and the wealthy should pay more in taxes.

Those ideas are not radical. They are right. They would improve life in America, and they are generally shared by the other Democratic candidates, who bring their own strengths to this race.

Former Vice President Joe Biden would restore credibility in the White House and respect among allies around the world. Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg brings refreshingly smart, youthful optimism. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota offers a track record of bipartisan achievement. Much like Warren, Bernie Sanders champions the working class.

News coverage: Breaking down the Register's endorsement

Iowa Caucus history: A complete guide, plus photos, of the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses

But at this moment, our country needs more. We need a president who can work the levers of government to translate ideas into signed laws and effective regulations. We need a president committed to bringing our troops home from open-ended foreign entanglements. We need a president who understands that the American dream itself is at risk: the ideal that someone who works hard and plays by the rules can get ahead, and that their children will do even better. With Warren, the Oval Office will be occupied by someone who has made rebuilding the middle class her life’s work.

These tall tasks will require resilience and courage in the face of inevitable attacks from the GOP — both during the campaign and while in office.

Warren has proven she is tough and fearless.

But toughness can also be perceived as divisive, as can rhetoric that vilifies the wealthy, lobbyists and corporations that employ millions of people. Relentless attack mode threatens to further fracture a country riven by party, income and racial divides.

Helping you make your own decision:

Voter guide: Don’t have a lot of time? Find FAQs on the key issues, where the candidates stand and more to make your vote matter.

Don’t have a lot of time? Find FAQs on the key issues, where the candidates stand and more to make your vote matter. Candidates on the issues: Find out how the 2020 presidential candidates plan to tackle healthcare, climate change, gun violence and more.

Unifying the country may not be possible, but to gain the support required to govern, she must show that her vision will lift people up rather than divide them.

Warren’s competence, respect for others and status as the nation’s first female president would be a fitting response to the ignorance, sexism and xenophobia of the Trump Oval Office.

She is a thinker, a policy wonk and a hard worker. She remembers her own family’s struggles to make ends meet and her own desperation as a working mother needing child care.

She cares about people, and she will use her seemingly endless energy and passion to fight for them.

At this moment, when the very fabric of American life is at stake, Elizabeth Warren is the president this nation needs.