On Oct. 13, Donald Trump framed the 2016 election this way:

"This is our moment of reckoning as a society and as a civilization itself."

He could not be more right, and for that reason we endorse Hillary Clinton for president.

For 20 years, America has been torn apart by bitter, increasingly irrational partisan division, to the extent that our government has at times been at a standstill. Trump would only make that worse, much worse. He has proven himself unfit for the office.

But a political endorsement should not just be a negative, a choosing of the lesser of two evils. This one is not.

Clinton is uniquely qualified for the presidency. More than 30 years of public service give her a decisive edge. She has a record of accomplishments and positions that can be criticized, fairly or not, yet on balance it is her experience that makes her the superior choice by far, and one of the strongest candidates for the office in many years.

Clinton has been under heavy scrutiny since long before declaring her candidacy. Despite this, she has proven herself the most stable, competent and knowledgeable candidate on issues that will matter most to Americans and their interests the next four years: Health care. Foreign policy. The economy. Immigration. Climate change.

While some voters may not like Clinton, a presidential election is not a personality contest, and the hatred so many express toward her is unwarranted. It is reasonable to ask whether the vitriol has more to do with gender than reality.

After the worst recession in 80 years, the American economy is on the mend. Clinton has the ability to keep that recovery on track.

Clinton has her flaws, to be sure, but they pale in comparison to those of her opponent.

One of Trump’s advantages in this campaign is supposed to be his business acumen. But his business practices include bankruptcies, unscrupulous dealings and tax avoidance. He does well for himself, but not for others. His refusal to release his tax records is unprecedented and highly troubling. His temperament, character and ignorance of the issues are appalling. His willingness to undermine confidence in our election system and his unwillingness to agree to accept the outcome are indefensible.

Trump’s enemies list makes Richard Nixon look like Mister Rogers. He rails against a "media elite" that is working with the political, cultural and financial establishment. It’s nonsense and he knows it. Even the most conservative newspapers around the country have abandoned him, not because they want to see Clinton in the White House, but because they see a Trump presidency as, to use one of his favorite words, a disaster. A disaster.

The position we are taking in this election will no doubt enrage Trump’s supporters. But we do not consider them to be, in Clinton’s lamentable description, deplorable. Millions of people for good reason feel they have have been left behind by 21st century America, as the candidacies of Trump and Bernie Sanders have convincingly demonstrated. The next president – and the next Congress, because compromise is not a one-way street – must reach out to those Americans. Hillary Clinton is that person.

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