The New Nation - Internet Edition

With The New York Times (NYT) endorsing Barack Obama on October 23 the Democratic candidate has not only won an unexpected landslide of newspaper support in the US, his chances of getting elected also appeared even brighter.

The New York Times in its editorial said "Mr. Obama has met challenge after challenge, growing as a leader and putting real flesh on his early promises of hope and change. He has shown a cool head and sound judgment. We believe he has the will and the ability to forge the broad political consensus that is essential to finding solutions to this nation's problems.

In the same time, Senator John McCain of Arizona has retreated farther and farther to the fringe of American politics, running a campaign on partisan division, class warfare and even hints of racism. His policies and worldview are mired in the past. His choice of a running mate so evidently unfit for the office was a final act of opportunism and bad judgment that eclipsed the accomplishments of 26 years in Congress."

In less than two weeks, Americans will pick one of them to lead the country through one of the most baffling and perilous economic collapses in US history. Backed by solid wins in three debates Barack Obama is now shown as extending the lead in popular rankings.

Colin Powell, a retired general, who'd often been mentioned as a Republican presidential candidate himself, endorsed Democrat Barack Obama last Sunday. Political analysts said Powell's endorsement was a serious blow to McCain's candidacy, particularly in swing states with large numbers of undecided voters.

Arne Carlson, the former governor of Minnesota, was the first to step away from his party to back Obama. Then came an even bigger name: Bill Weld. The former Massachusetts governor who issued a statement on Friday announcing his support for Obama.

"Senator Obama is a once-in-a-lifetime candidate who will transform our politics and restore America's standing in the world," Weld said in a statement. He'll hold an event today in the Bay State.

Weld cited the senator's good judgment, "deep sense of calm" and "first-class political temperament."

Meanwhile, Charles Fried, a professor at Harvard Law School, who has long been one of the most important conservative thinkers in the United States, announced this week that he has voted for Obama-Biden by absentee ballot. He asked that his name be removed from McCain camp's several campaign-related committees on which he serves.

Early this year 'voters were merely looking for a candidate who could effectively deal with global warming, rising oil prices, high health care costs and a controversial war in Iraq. Today they want someone to save the economic system from collapse, rescue their retirement savings and help them hang on to their jobs,' said an American observer.

In Obama, Americans have hope for genuine change from the failed policies of the George W. Bush administration, policies that led us into an unnecessary war in Iraq that eroded US credibility around the world and turned a regulatory blind eye that has fueled the current economic crisis.

Obama, 47, knows removing troops from Iraq must be done carefully, but must be done as soon as possible. The Iraqi government must take more responsibility for its own security.

Barack Obama has been endorsed also by the Philadelphia Daily News. That made it a sweep for Obama among Pennsylvania's major newspapers. "Most candidates claim that they will change the way business is done in Washington," the paper writes. "Barack Obama has made us believe that, yes, he can."