Des Moines Register endorses McCain, Hillary

The Register endorsement is one that counts much more on the Dem side, because that is the way they lean editorially. Further, McCain is not putting up much of a fight in Iowa, instead pinning all his hopes on a New Hampshire victory to breathe new life into his campaign.

Just the same, the Globe doesn't do much of anything for New Hampshire Republicans. But their backing is likely more significant than that of the Register. Why? Because, with the coveted endorsement of the Union Leader in one hand to show off to conservatives and the Globe in the other,

McCain can make the case in the Granite State that he is uniquely qualified to draw the support of both Republicans and moderate-leaning Independents. Who else, after all, could bring together the likes of Joseph McQuaid and the New York Times company-owned Boston broadsheet?

"Time after time, McCain has stuck to his beliefs in the face of opposition from other elected leaders and the public. He has criticized crop and ethanol subsidies during two presidential campaigns in Iowa. He bucked his party and president by opposing the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.

A year ago, in the face of growing criticism, he staunchly supported President Bush’s decision to increase troop strength in Iraq. "In this campaign, he continues to support comprehensive immigration reform — while watching his poll standings plunge. Some other Republican candidates refuse to acknowledge that climate change is a serious threat caused by human activity. McCain has worked on the issue for seven years and sponsored bills to limit greenhouse-gas emissions.

In the Senate, she has earned a reputation as a workhorse who does not seek the limelight. She honed knowledge of defense on the Senate Armed Services Committee. She has proactively served rural and urban New York and worked in the national interest, strengthening the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Clinton is tough.

Tested by rough politics and personal trials, she’s demonstrated strength, resolve and resilience. Can she inspire the nation? Clinton is still criticized in some quarters as being too guarded and calculating. (As president, when she makes a mistake, she should just say so.)

Indeed, Obama, her chief rival, inspired our imaginations. But it was Clinton who inspired our confidence. Each time we met, she impressed us with her knowledge and her competence.

Many have remarked on Obama's extraordinary biography: that he is the biracial son of a father from Kenya and a mother who had him at 18; that he was raised in the dynamic, multi-ethnic cultures of Hawaii and Indonesia; that he went from being president of the Harvard Law Review to the gritty and often thankless work of community organizing in Chicago; that, at 46, he would be the first post-baby-boom president.

What is more extraordinary is how Obama seals each of these experiences to his politics. One of the lessons he took from organizing poor families in Chicago, he says, was "how much people felt locked out of their government," even at the local level. That experience anchors his commitment to transparency and accountability in Washington.