Democrats need Barack Obama's vision, leadership
The Honolulu Advertiser | February 17, 2008
From The Honolulu Advertiser
...For tomorrow's party caucus, when Hawai'i Democrats have a rare chance to influence the final outcome of the primary-election campaign, The Honolulu Advertiser endorses Barack Obama, recognizing his ideas and policies as being most closely aligned with the needs of the country.
Many others who've made that selection argue that the junior U.S. senator from Illinois stands a better chance of beating the more seasoned McCain.
...After reviewing his ideas, the careful voter should consider Obama's experience. Born and raised in Hawai'i, Obama later settled in Chicago and became a community organizer with a church-based group, working to better living conditions in poor, high-crime neighborhoods. Later, with a Harvard law degree in hand, he practiced as a civil rights attorney and teacher.
During eight years in the Illinois state legislature he supported increased funding for healthcare and education; he also helped write bills to publicly finance judicial campaigns and create a state earned-income tax credit.
That work, and his undeniable personal charisma, helped propel him into the U.S. Senate, where he has managed to secure additional funding for veterans' medical care and energy development in his home state. He opposed the corporate-written Central American Free Trade Agreement, and he led the charge among those challenging the Bush administration's failure to protect New Orleans.
