The distinctly different challenges the United States faces today demand a deliberative, steady and thoughtful leader who will guide our nation through what are sure to be a very perilous next four years. Barack Obama is the man for that job. [...] We base our endorsement not just upon Obama's promise of hope and change, but also upon his positions on issues of importance to Americans.
We strongly encourage readers to vote for Barack Obama for president. [...] By contrast [to McCain's campaign], Obama has been steady, thoughtful and inspirational. His "change-we-can-believe-in" campaign inspired thousands of people to get involved in politics for the first time. He's a Harvard lawyer, but he worked as a community organizer and consumer advocate before he went to law school. He has risen from humble beginnings to run for president. In this brilliant campaign, he has earned our vote.
The La Crosse Tribune endorses Sen. Barack Obama, the Democrat from Illinois, to provide the change in leadership, hope and vision we need to restore faith in our future and restore trust among our world partners. [...] Obama combines the discipline of pay-as-you-go budgeting with plans to reinvest in our crumbling national infrastructure and reduce our carbon emissions by 80 percent by the middle of this century -- a more thoughtful, visionary approach to an energy policy than simply crying, "Drill, Baby, Drill." [...] We believe Barack Obama will provide the leadership and inspiration we need.
Americans feel the need for new leadership, a renewal of our national spirit, and a desperate need to pull together in tough times.This election is about such needs, not individual planks in a campaign platform. That's why the Herald endorses Barack Obama for president.[...]Restoring health to the nation's economy will be even more difficult considering the mess that the nation finds itself in at this point. It will likely require patience, sacrifice and a positive attitude from the American people. That will require inspirational leadership from the nation's president, and there is every reason to believe that is Obama's greatest strength.
Americans feel the need for new leadership, a renewal of our national spirit, and a desperate need to pull together in tough times.
This election is about such needs, not individual planks in a campaign platform. That's why the Herald endorses Barack Obama for president.
[...]
Restoring health to the nation's economy will be even more difficult considering the mess that the nation finds itself in at this point. It will likely require patience, sacrifice and a positive attitude from the American people. That will require inspirational leadership from the nation's president, and there is every reason to believe that is Obama's greatest strength.
The Bush administration has bumbled from crisis to crisis for nearly eight years, competence gone AWOL. The nation needs resuscitating change like a new baby needs that first breath of air. Two would-be successors pledge it. But Barack Obama is more believable. We recommend him to be the 44th president of the United States. Obama's vision and potential to be that change agent trump his relative lack of experience, though the experience he possesses is valuable. The maturity and calm demeanor he has exhibited these past two years in the public spotlight and earlier, speak to able, careful, inclusive leadership. And he is simply the better of the two on the issues.
You know when people are focused on something good, it's a momentous occasion. I've never seen anything like it in Baraboo before.
[Obama's] campaign is rooted in providing hope and inspiring Americans to find new solutions to combat problems in this new century. This philosophy is important considering the challenges the next president will face during the next four years, among them crafting a new strategy for Iraq and a financial system in tatters in part because of the skewing of wealth into fewer hands. Obama also has excited people about the democratic process like few candidates in recent memory. Millions of potential voters considered "on the fringe" -- young adults, African Americans and Latinos -- have been energized to become involved and active in government.
Our friend Joseph here at Wisconsin HQ is traveling around Wisconsin talking with some of the amazing volunteers who have made Barack's movement for change possible. Joseph will be filing reports from all over the Badger state during the next few days -- stop by for more great stories of remarkable people working for change.
I watched the primaries, and for Barack Obama to be our choice - I sat there in awe. I couldn't be more thrilled to do what it takes to get him elected.
But the place was packed -- overflowing onto the street, more than anyone could have imagined.
After asking her why, we talked and we talked. This kind of work is about people's stories. Lois is courageous to be open-minded to think of changing her life-long affiliation.
“Wisconsin is a battleground state, and we have got to get the vote out,” Napolitano said. Napolitano emphasized the differences between Obama and Republican John McCain, who is also from Arizona, saying their economic policies differ greatly, with McCain giving tax cuts to the wealthy while Obama focuses more on the middle class.
Napolitano said Eleanor Roosevelt’s call to women in 1933 to engage in the political process as never before and to unite to solve the nation’s problems remains essential to “the new New Deal that we’re going to inaugurate in this country in January.” She recalled her work as chairwoman of the Democratic Party’s national platform committee, where she served with U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, in calling the Obama-Biden ticket “the strongest on women’s issues in history.”
"I'm a lifelong Republican, but Senator Obama is the right leader for our country and will deliver the change we need," she says. "After taking a careful look at the qualities of both McCain and Obama and who would be best for our country, I found that Senator Obama's ability to bridge the partisan divide to work toward solid solutions that will get our nation back on the right track meant he is the right choice this November."
There are only two weeks until Election Day, but why wait? You can vote now if you're ready. An unprecedented number of people have already cast their ballot in Milwaukee. The city is seeing 500 early voters a day, and they're not alone. It's been busy at city halls and town halls all across the state.
[I]n my case, my two sons - one in his early thirties and one in his late twenties, along with my daughters-in-law - just kept after me to support (Obama)." Doyle noted that at first, he gave his children pat answers. "But then I decided I needed to look through their eyes, not necessarily my eyes," the governor recalled. "In their eyes, Barack Obama showed he was a candidate that could build a great future. He was a candidate that represented getting past political fights that have gone on for 40 years. The divisions that happened in the 1960s have been fighting for 40 years. With Obama, we had a candidate that was a candidate that showed us what the future could be."
[Gina] Smith, 56, of Janesville is among hundreds of volunteers across the state who are spending several hours each week making phone calls and going door-to-door in their communities, talking to voters about Obama. "(The local campaign headquarters) is the up-close and personal connection between the campaign and the community," said Phil Walzak, communications director for the Obama campaign in Wisconsin. "It's the vehicle by which our campaign talks to voters on a one-on-one basis. It's the home base for activity." The Obama campaign is "robust" in Wisconsin with 50 offices across the state, not only in areas that are Democratic strongholds but also in areas that are staunchly Republican, he said. And the success of the campaign in a battleground state such as Wisconsin depends on volunteers who week after week spread the word about Obama, he said.
Earlier, while waiting for [Gov.] Doyle to appear, Obama volunteer Brent Nance of Caledonia said the grass-roots organization working on Obama's behalf will be active even beyond Nov. 4. "Obama is taking his training (as a community political organizer) and spreading it nationwide," said Nance, an Obama "team member" for a segment of Caledonia. Each city has a set of teams, he explained, that work together and become acquainted with each other during the campaign. "When the election is over, we'll still have a network," Nance said. "So when the next election happens, we don't have to start all over. You will see them more active on local issues."
Democratic Governor Chet Culver spoke to nearly 50 people at the Rhinelander District Library this afternoon. Culver emphasized Barack Obama's concern for Wisconsin's agriculture, small communities and renewable energy. The Governor says the last 18 days of the election are important here in Wisconsin. "We've got work to do. And that's why I'm crisscrossing Iowa and criss crossing Wisconsina and working with my fellow Governors like Jim Doyle and others who are so excited about Barack Obama's candidacy." Obama supporters at today's event say it's important to have other politicians endorse the candidates in smaller communities. Alan Vanraalte, an Obama supporter, says, "I think it's absolutely vital that they do. if it weren't the candidates would be spread pretty thin and they need to go to where the population centers are."
BRUSSELS -- We all appreciate our right and privilege to vote in local, state or federal elections; it is, however, also our duty to be informed as well as we can. Unfortunately, many rely purely on the candidates' ads and even on unsubstantiated rumors. As a retired Navy captain and former national program director at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C., I remain quite interested in whatever affects our veterans. I researched the voting records of Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama on matters affecting our veterans; the difference is staggering. McCain voted consistently against bills that improved funding for veterans and the Veterans Administration. Just as an example, McCain opposed the 21st Century GI bill because it was too generous; and in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007, McCain voted against increasing funding for veterans health care. In contrast, Obama co-sponsored and voted for the new GI Bill of Rights, and he helped pass 10 key veterans bills and sponsored 36 additional veterans bills since 2007. In 65 percent of the pro-veterans bills, Obama was able to get co-sponsorship from Republicans. Obama is and will remain the friend of our veterans who have earned and deserve our support. Dr. Joseph E. Binard
[Y]ou don't even have to wait until election day. City of Superior residents can go to the Government Center and vote absentee in the City Clerk's office or county residents can contact their town or village clerk for an absentee ballot. You don't have to be going out of town or traveling to justify casting an absentee ballot. Anyone can vote absentee for any reason. And if you are concerned about waiting in long lines on Election Day, you are encouraged to vote absentee. Election officials are predicting a record turnout and the Superior City Clerk's office has extra help on hand now to assist early voters.
