The Opinion of the RGJ Editorial Board

The RGJ Editorial Board endorses Democrat Hillary Clinton for president of the United States.

Trump and many of his supporters have legitimate concerns – about security, the slow economic recovery, health care costs, Clinton’s secrecy and ethical challenges, and more. Perhaps their most important contribution this election has been their call for change. Something is wrong with the American political system when candidates who are reviled by such large numbers of voters become the two main choices.

The takeaway from this election must be that Americans do not want government as usual. They do not want politics as usual. Those privileged enough to be elected this year must figure out a way around, over or under this wall of partisanship that poisons so much of the nation’s discourse. If they do not, more toxic elections lie in our future.

Eight members of the editorial board backed Clinton, two supported the Nevada ballot option “None of These Candidates,” and none supported Republican Donald Trump or Libertarian Gary Johnson. Four board members think Clinton will be a good, strong president. One “None” supporter vehemently opposes Trump and Clinton. And the other five board members primarily cast their votes against Trump.

If a stronger Republican candidate had been nominated, the board very well may have backed that person – and board members would have definitely had a better debate over whom to endorse. Unfortunately, Trump disqualified himself with his antics.

Our intention with endorsements is to determine – through interviews, research and vigorous debate with board members from across the political spectrum – which candidates and initiatives are most likely to help Reno, Sparks, Nevada and the nation. Overall, we think Clinton is far from a perfect candidate, but we also think she is more likely to make progress on addressing Americans’ concerns than the other ballot choices for president.

Reasons to vote for Clinton

• Experience: She has spent her life devoted to public service. She played a prominent policy role in her husband Bill’s administration. She has been a U.S. senator and secretary of state. She understands well how the federal government works. She has deep knowledge of foreign and domestic policy.

Our view: Amodei for Nevada U.S. House seat

Our view: Cortez Masto for Nevada's U.S. Senate seat

• Temperament: Clinton has often faced grueling hearings and personal attacks, and while she sometimes too cavalierly dismisses criticisms, she has a steady demeanor, she keeps fighting for what she believes in and she generally remains cool under pressure. She is also willing to admit when she is wrong. These are traits needed in a president.

• Realistic: She does not make extravagant promises. Her tactic of making advances incrementally is not an inspiring approach but it is realistic. It is also a conservative approach.

• Status quo: Clinton says she will continue many policies of President Obama and fix others. Because of this, it is worth taking a snapshot of how the country is doing after eight years with Obama. Overall, the country is better off. The economy has added more than 10 million jobs, the unemployment rate is now significantly lower than historic norms (less than 5%), inflation is less than half the historical average, gas prices are low, stock prices have about doubled, corporate profits are up 152%, agents along the Mexico border have doubled, the number of immigrants trying to enter the U.S. illegally has fallen 53%, the trade deficit has shrunk 24%, oil imports are down 53%, and the number of people without health insurance has dropped by 15.2 million.

Reasons to be cautious of Clinton

• Transparency: Clinton has a tendency against openness with the media and the public. The controversy over private emails is typical. She took actions to hide information, tried to downplay what she did, and made numerous public statements about them that are not true. She said that everything she did was permitted, she never sent or received classified materials, she used the personal email account out of convenience so she could carry just one device and the FBI director said her email answers were truthful. All of these are false. The FBI found the handling of Clinton’s emails was “extremely careless” and that “any reasonable person in Secretary Clinton’s position” should have known better.

Roundup: RGJ Editorial Board endorsements for 2016 ballot

Meet the RGJ’s new editorial board members

• Judgment: Some of her mistakes reveal bad decision-making skills or focus-group-driven opinions. She seems to admit mistakes only when a change of view becomes politically advantageous. For examples, see her positions on the 1994 Violent Crime Control Act, same-sex marriage, the Iraq War and the use of a private email server.

• Status quo: As mentioned, Clinton wants to extend many Obama policies. The snapshot above is not all good news: the federal debt has more than doubled on Obama’s watch, long-term unemployment is higher than it was at the start of the recession, and the number of Americans on food stamps is 36% higher.

Reasons to be cautious of Trump

• Experience: Trump has no experience working in government and has shown little understanding of what it will take to get his proposals through Congress or even how government finances work. For business experience, Trump has had six companies go bankrupt. He also declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns. He has shown only a superficial knowledge of foreign policy or treaties.

• Temperament: Trump rarely takes responsibility, preferring to blame others. He has shown a tendency to fall for internet rumors, such as climate change is a hoax, the Obama administration actively supported Al Qaeda in Iraq, and President Obama was born in Kenya. These are not traits desired in a president.

• Women: He has looked at children and suggested they will be future sexual conquests. He has intentionally walked in unannounced on naked teen beauty pageant contestants. He has bragged about groping women and sexually targeting married women. These actions reflect poor personal values.

• Harmful to democracy: Trump has said repeatedly that the election is rigged because of large scale voter fraud. Worse than simply being untrue, such comments make political fractures in America worse. This makes people not want to participate, creates suspicion and fuels fear. Such attacks on a system that much of the world aspires to emulate are harmful to democracy itself.

Reasons to vote for “None of These Candidates”

• This is an understandable choice if you can only vote for someone you truly believe will be a good president and you think none of these candidates provides that.

Our view: How we try to avoid bias in picking candidates

One View: 'None of These Candidates' is worthy vote

• It is also understandable if you think that a significant number of votes for “None of These Candidates” will keep the winner from being able to claim a mandate and thus may make that person more likely to address the concerns of those who did not vote for them.

Reason to be cautious of “None of These Candidates”

• Given that either Trump or Clinton is certain to win, some board members describe voting for “None” as abdicating one’s responsibility to have input into who will guide the nation for at least the next four years.

Reasons to be cautious of Gary Johnson

• Johnson has not shown he is ready to be president, sometimes being unprepared or behaving bizarrely.

• He has shown a lack of knowledge when asked about foreign affairs and policy.

• He has shown a lack of knowledge about domestic policy, too. He has advocated eliminating many federal departments – such as commerce, education and housing & urban development – but without explaining who would take on their work. He has said the government should not act on climate change.

How to write opinion column or letter to editor for RGJ