CA – Pasadena Star-News: This election will chart the course not just for the next four years but for many more as the incoming president and Congress grapple with two wars and an economic crisis while carrying an onerous national debt and skyrocketing budget deficit on their backs. To best meet these challenges, we respectfully endorse Barack Obama for the presidency.

CA- LA Daily News: But [Obama’s] offered detailed, sensible plans on pressing domestic issues and thoughtfully addressed the economic situation. He has a clear health-care plan, similar to what California has been trying to create over the past two years. He has a tax plan that gives back to the people who are generally asked to share the biggest burden, and a small tax increase on those who have benefited – and will continue to do so – from the policies of the current administration… His is a message that we’re a people who might be down, might be facing hard times, but we still have a bright future. It’s a message that makes us feel hopeful – not helpless – in the face of the climate crisis, that we can treat the elderly, the sick and the poor as a rich nation not only can, but should. And that in the end we can and will leave the country a better place for our children and grandchildren. That’s a message America is dying to hear.

CO – Aspen Daily News: Barack Obama possesses both the style and the substance to guide this nation out of one of its darkest chapters. As many have noted, the mere act of electing Obama will begin to undo the unjust reputation bestowed on the United States in recent years. It would signal to the world that our country is ready for open-minded global debate, that it will act only after careful deliberation, and that the American dream is alive, well and moving into the White House.

CO – Boulder Daily Camera: He is educated, diplomatic and respected abroad…Obama has remained, for the most part, above the fray. In Sen. Joe Biden, he selected a solid running mate with more experience than himself, and someone who could help him navigate foreign policy. Obama is not just the right choice against the McCain ticket, he is the right choice for president in our troubled times.

CT – New Haven Register: Obama has proven a disciplined campaigner and a brilliantly effective orator. After eight years with a Republican in the White House, a fresh perspective is needed. Barack Obama should be the next president of the United States.

IL – Daily Herald: To respond to those challenges, the nation needs a confident change in direction. We believe Sen. Barack Obama is best suited by temperament, judgment and vision to bring about that change, and we strongly endorse Illinois’ favorite son for the presidency.

NM- Santa Fe Reporter: The next president faces massive challenges at home and abroad. We are living in uncertain times and are in need of fresh perspectives, steady leadership and, perhaps most of all, inspiration. Barack Obama, whose life story reflects the best of America’s promise, already has brought these factors to the campaign trail. Now it’s time for him to bring them to the White House.

OH – Middletown Journal/Hamilton Journal-News: If anyone can help erase the Blue State/Red State division that makes any constructive political discourse in this country nearly impossible, it’s Barack Obama. Obama has demonstrated the maturity, needed pragmatism, genuine concern and calm understanding of the historic challenges that our nation faces. That is why this newspaper endorses Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States.

OH – New Philadelphia The Times-Reporter: The Times-Reporter believes Democrat Barack Obama is the better candidate to lead the country out of these trying economic times and today gives its endorsement to him over opponent Republican John McCain… We believe Barack Obama is the better of the two candidates and the one who can lead us through one of the most difficult economic times since the Great Depression.

OR – Yamhill Valley News-Register: Only one candidate stands for change in this year’s presidential race — Barack Obama. Obama’s intellect, temperament and ability to inspire are precisely what we need after a disastrous eight years under George W. Bush.

PA – The Daily Item: Throughout our nation’s history, in trying times, America has been fortunate that voters have shown the wisdom to select leaders ready and able to guide our nation forward…Considering the scope of the challenges facing our nation, voters again must make a bold, but wise, choice for president. That choice is Barack Obama.

TN – The Nashville Tennessean: This newspaper believes Obama would be an inspiring choice at an extraordinary time for the nation. The country needs a fresh, energetic face in the White House. Every race for president is important, but the current confluence of events, including the war on terror, mountainous challenges in the economy and a growing strain upon the nation’s health-care system make the current race a call for vigorous new approaches and enthusiasm. Obama has managed to put a tone of optimism in his campaign at a time it would be very easy to be downhearted, worried and pessimistic. That characteristic alone goes a long way in demonstrating the kind of leadership the nation needs.

WA – The Columbian: Any successful reformer must excel in leadership and judgment. In the past several months, Obama has distanced himself as the superior candidate in those two areas, and today he receives The Columbian’s endorsement for president… But as we examined leadership qualities of both men, we saw Obama’s massive strides in uniting his own Democratic party, even reaching beyond his party to speak to all Americans. McCain, in stark contrast, continues to slog through a fractious Republican Party that often is his worst enemy. It takes strong leadership skills to enlist record numbers of volunteers and to continually explore new heights in the polls, as Obama methodically demonstrates.

WI – Madison Capital Times: But, for the most part, Barack Obama “gets it.”Obama opposed authorizing President Bush to attack Iraq and he has been a wise skeptic with regard to the fantasy that a “surge” of U.S. troops into Iraq will turn that country into the “mission accomplished” paradise that Bush White House spin doctors keep trying to get Americans to accept. And he promises to replace threats and violence with a diplomacy that seeks peace, cooperation and development….The best hope for an Obama presidency is that he will arrive in the White House with a mandate from the voters, and a clear governing majority in the Congress. Where will the mandate come from? Let it begin here in the progressive heartlands — with an overwhelming vote for Barack Obama — and let it spread out across a country that has waited too long for a change, and a president, we can believe in.

WV- Huntington Herald-Dispatch: Others felt Obama has a better idea of how to finish the war. He is more attentive to the needs of the middle class. He has a stronger commitment to education, and he is more likely to bring a fresh approach to health care, the economy and energy policy. It was a good debate, but in the end, there was more sentiment on the editorial board that Obama would bring the change that America needs.