SIX CALIFORNIA NEWSPAPERS ENDORSE JOHN MCCAIN FOR PRESIDENT

The Stockton Record, the Los Angeles Daily News, the Chico News & Review, The San Jose Mercury News, the Santa Cruz Sentinel and The Sacramento Bee endorse John McCain
"Make no mistake: McCain is a staunch Republican. He's willing to stray from partisanship for partisanship's sake. He's willing to take stands that aren't popular with members of his party and forge coalitions with Democrats." -- The Stockton Record
"In McCain, Republicans have a candidate who is true to their party's ideals but not a lackey to its leadership. ... [W]hen it couldn't have been less popular, McCain pushed for the surge. History has proved him right on that score, too. And many U.S. troops and Iraqis' lives have been saved because of it." -- The Los Angeles Daily News
"Among the viable Republican candidates, John McCain is the best choice. On several issues -- immigration, global warming and trade among them -- he is as good as any candidate, Republican or Democratic ... [He's] consistently fought to expose wasteful, pork-barrel spending. He's long championed campaign-finance reform. As a former POW, he understands that torture is unworthy of America, and has pledged never to use it and to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. -- The Chico News & Review
"Six month ago, McCain's campaign was in shambles. What has caused voters to give him a second look are his integrity and authenticity. ... At 71, McCain would be inaugurated as the nation's oldest president. But with age has come a maturity and steadfastness of purpose." -- The San Jose Mercury News
"McCain has the kind of grit and determination that comes to a man who has suffered and overcome. ... He is the most electable Republican running and he's conservative enough. He's a politician who delivers straight talk; a man who has been down and doesn't stays there." -- Santa Cruz Sentinel
"As a senator with 20 years experience, a former Navy pilot and Vietnam prisoner of war, McCain has the independence, moral compass and public service ethos to renew the presidency and his party." -- The Sacramento Bee
John McCain: A Promise Of Principled Leadership
EditorialStockton RecordJanuary 27, 2008
Because the Feb. 5 primary election gives California voters a real chance to impact the presidential nominating process, The Record is breaking precedent by offering its recommendations.
John McCain is the only candidate who would give Republicans a realistic chance at retaining the presidency.
He also would give voters a distinctly different and viable option against either Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton or John Edwards on Nov. 4.
McCain, the four-term U.S. senator from Arizona, earns The Record's endorsement for the Republican nomination as Super Tuesday approaches. On Feb. 5, California voters get the chance to make a difference in the presidential nomination process.
McCain, 71, doesn't walk the balance beam of public opinion. He takes distinct - although not always popular - stands and does so with a strong sense of ethics, a trait that'll be challenged in increasingly perilous economic times.
He decisively states his views, and while we don't agree with all of them - specifically his contention that troop levels should be increased in Iraq - he would provide a positive departure from the damaging waffling on issues that has emanated from the White House during the Bush presidency.
Make no mistake: McCain is a staunch Republican. He's willing to stray from partisanship for partisanship's sake. He's willing to take stands that aren't popular with members of his party and forge coalitions with Democrats.
His immigration policies gravitate toward the melding of human and security considerations and are based in reality, not rhetoric. He long has supported a guest-worker program coupled with practical avenues to gaining citizenship while maintaining security.
He hasn't adopted a close-minded approach to global warming that has afflicted many in his party.
He's been willing to work with Democrats on important issues, even risking the wrath of Republicans in a vote against President Bush's 2001 tax cuts.
His background as a senator, Navy pilot, prisoner of war and public servant engenders feelings of trust. Those are going to be necessary, because some voters will be worried about his age and potential viability as a two-term president.
We differ with his stance on Iraq, which, basically, is supportive of Bush policies with a willingness to send even more troops if necessary.
"This election is about making sure we have the experienced leadership to guide us to victory in this war, protect the nation against future terrorist attacks and support our troops and first responders who are on the front lines of the war," McCain has stated.
"This election will decide whether we choose to fight or announce surrender. It will decide whether we have a president who dangerously weakens U.S. security or strengthens it."
All Democratic candidates favor a systematic withdrawal from Iraq.
The nomination of McCain - a self-professed "common-sense conservative'' - will give voters a clear choice in November between viable, principled candidates who are presidential in demeanor and committed to improving the lives of Americans and our place in the world.
Read The Stockton Record Editorial: "John McCain: A Promise Of Principled Leadership"
###
McCain Vs. Obama
EditorialLos Angeles Daily NewsJanuary 27, 2008
Crossover candidates offer best hope for a unifying debate
IN choosing the major political parties' presidential nominees on Feb. 5, California voters will not only have a chance to shape the next four years of American policies but also to dictate the tone of the next nine months' discourse.
It is, at last, a chance to raise the level of the way Americans discuss politics and work toward the future.
And that is just one reason out of many why California Republicans could do no better than to choose John McCain, and Democrats should choose Barack Obama.
Policywise, the two may not have much in common, but they share the ability to transcend the ossified political divisions that have crippled this country for far too long.
In McCain, Republicans have a candidate who is true to their party's ideals but not a lackey to its leadership. He is that rare breed in politics, the principled leader who doesn't take his marching orders from party bosses or special interests and who actually says what he means.
Just look at Iraq. An early supporter of the war, McCain was unafraid to speak up and criticize Bush administration policy when the situation was dire, but the White House maintained a stubborn sense of denial. He led the charge in calling for the ouster of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld - an event that has proved to be a turning point in the war.
Later, when it couldn't have been less popular, McCain pushed for the surge.
History has proved him right on that score, too. And many U.S. troops and Iraqis' lives have been saved because of it.
On immigration, McCain defied a vocal, vitriolic minority within his party and pushed for the comprehensive reform America desperately needs. Many analysts argued - wrongly, it turns out - that the Arizona senator's resoluteness on this issue would doom his candidacy, but that didn't stop him. Solving one of America's greatest, long-ignored problems meant more to McCain than his ambition. (Too bad so few others in Washington agreed.)
He has also condemned the torture of enemy combatants. Coming from a man who heroically endured 52 years of torture himself in a Vietnamese POW camp, we shouldn't be surprised.
McCain's willingness to work across the aisle has made him popular among many Democrats and independents. Indeed, he is the one Republican with a realistic shot of turning "blue" states "red," or, - better yet - laying that spent division to rest once and for all.
Likewise, Obama also has the potential to break apart the old coalitions of American politics and create dynamic new ones in their place.
His is a candidacy that gives hope to many - to African-Americans, to be sure, and the young as well as people of all races who are inspired by his eloquence and delight in the thought of the U.S. putting the final nail in the coffin of its racist past by electing an African-American to the highest office in the land.
The Illinois senator's appeal is about much more than race. Obama speaks of hope in a way that Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton did before him. He doesn't despair over what is wrong in America today, but points to what is right, and how we can become better.
This marks a delightful change from the scare-mongering that's prevalent among most of the other candidates. Obama's pitch isn't predicated on exploiting the negatives of his rivals but on accentuating the positives in the American spirit and ideals.
No wonder many voters who don't necessarily care for his policies still find themselves impressed with Obama. They are swayed by his decency, by his vision, by the promise that his election could be historic in the way few others are.
Like McCain in 2000, Obama has been the victim of some unscrupulous and undignified campaigning this year. But he has, for the most part, resisted the temptation to jump in the gutter and drag America down with him. This is a testament to his character.
Imagine how different a McCain-Obama race would be compared with, say, a battle between Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton, in which both camps would trot out the usual partisan bogeymen and cheap shots. Instead, we would get a frank discussion of ideas, one based on finding the best way forward - for everyone.
It would be a campaign aimed at building America up, not tearing it apart. Whatever the outcome, the public would win, and there would be no loser. The country could only be edified by such a process and, hopefully, strengthened and united for the four years to follow, regardless of who is the president.
If that sounds idealistic, so be it.
In a time of war and economic uncertainty, America could use a little idealism right now. Which is why it needs Barack Obama and John McCain to square off in a campaign that moves us forward.
Read The Los Angeles Daily News Editorial: "McCain Vs. Obama"
###
Primary Picks: Obama, McCain
EditorialChico News & Review January 24, 2008
No matter who wins the presidential primaries, voters will have a clear choice in November between the two major-party candidates.
The three leading Democratic candidates -- Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards -- differ less on policy issues than they do in style and emphasis. Clinton touts her experience and management skills, Obama his ability to inspire people and bring them together, and Edwards his willingness to fight for the poor and middle class.
At this point, Clinton and Obama are clearly the front-runners. If either of them is the nominee, he or she will make history as the first woman or African American to become president. That in itself is hugely significant.
But there is a crucial difference between them. The experience Clinton touts is also the source of the baggage she brings with her. For many reasons, some unfair and some of her and Bill Clinton's own making, she has become one of the most polarizing figures in American politics. She also has become a battle-scarred political infighter willing to twist and distort to gain advantage, as she has shown during this campaign.
Obama, on the other hand, offers something refreshingly new and welcome to American politics, especially after seven years of the Bush administration: the ability to appeal to people's strengths and hopes, not their fears, and to motivate them to become involved in creating a country and government that once again have the respect of the world.
His considerable experience as a community organizer, civil-rights lawyer, constitutional law professor, Illinois state senator and now U.S. senator, along with his remarkable personal history and extraordinary communication skills, add up to someone uniquely qualified to reach out across partisan lines and chart a new course for America.
Among the viable Republican candidates, John McCain is the best choice. On several issues -- immigration, global warming and trade among them -- he is as good as any candidate, Republican or Democratic, and can be expected to work closely with Democrats to move forward.
He's shown skepticism toward President Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy and consistently fought to expose wasteful, pork-barrel spending. He's long championed campaign-finance reform. As a former POW, he understands that torture is unworthy of America, and has pledged never to use it and to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay.
The biggest issue on which McCain disagrees with the leading Democratic candidates is Iraq. He believes the United States should stay there for "as long as it takes to win." We don't believe that military victory is possible or that this country can afford to occupy the country indefinitely. The future of Iraq must be put in Iraqi hands.
Ron Paul is the lone GOP candidate opposed to the occupation, but some of his other positions concern us. (Eliminate the Fed and go on the gold standardreally?!?) Among the contenders in consensus on Iraq, McCain has been the most honest and unwavering proponent, so he's the Republican with whom we're the most comfortable agreeing to disagree.
Read The Chico News & Review Editorial: "Primary Picks: Obama, McCain"###
McCain Best Choice For Republicans
EditorialThe San Jose Mercury NewsJanuary 25, 2008
Eight years ago, we said that Arizona Sen. John McCain was our choice in the Republican presidential primary. The nation and the Republican Party would be far better off now had he beaten George W. Bush for the nomination.
Today, we recommend McCain again. Unlike Bush, McCain believes in the law and has a moral compass. He has crossed party lines to craft bipartisan solutions on key issues. A candidate with convictions, he can attract independent voters the Republican Party need to stay in the White House.
We disagree with all of the Republican candidates on their solutions - or lack of thereof - on critical problems facing the nation and global economy. We specifically disagree with McCain on many issues, starting with the war in Iraq, which he strongly advocated. He has voted consistently with conservatives on abortion and domestic spending during 26 years in the Senate and shown little interest in health-care reform or education legislation. We've been disappointed that during this campaign, he has sometimes veered from straight talk and past positions.
But McCain has also driven conservatives crazy with his independence on issues that resonate in Silicon Valley. He voted for stem-cell research. He was one of few Republicans to vote against a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages. He voted against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
While others in his party remain deniers of global warming, he has co-sponsored a bill to address it. He proposed comprehensive, sensible immigration reforms. A former prisoner of war in Vietnam, he has demanded the humane treatment of prisoners of war.
McCain is wrong on Iraq. He still justifies the war and would commit troops there indefinitely. But Iraq might be more secure today and our troops less in peril, had President Bush followed McCain's call for more troops early on. The success of the surge would appear to vindicate his strategy - for the moment.
Six month ago, McCain's campaign was in shambles. What has caused voters to give him a second look are his integrity and authenticity.
Contrast McCain's candor with Mitt Romney's phoniness and Rudolph Giuliani's arrogance. Romney, a decent governor of Massachusetts, will say anything to anyone for a vote. Giuliani, the New York mayor during Sept. 11, is scaring up votes with visions of terror. The other candidate still in, Mike Huckabee, is as charming as McCain. But he plays to a narrow base: Christian evangelicals and viewers of Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central.
At 71, McCain would be inaugurated as the nation's oldest president. But with age has come a maturity and steadfastness of purpose.
He is far from an ideal candidate. But he is the best of the Republican lot.
Read The San Jose Mercury News Editorial: "McCain Best Choice For Republicans"
###
As We See It: McCain Republican Choice
EditorialSanta Cruz SentinelJanuary 25, 2008
Each of the contenders for the Republican presidential nomination brings along political baggage.
Mitt Romney is accused, with some justification, of being a serial flip-flopper.
Mike Huckabee of being a liberal in evangelical clothing.
Rudy Giuliani? Married three times, muddled on the abortion issue, running a strange and seemingly misguided campaign.
Then there's John McCain.
Too independent. Too old. Too pro-immigrant -- and a supporter of the current strategy in Iraq. But here's the real deal.
McCain is the one Republican who can attract independent voters, especially if Democrats nominate Sen. Barack Obama.
McCain has the kind of grit and determination that comes to a man who has suffered and overcome.
Pilloried by his own party and the Bush campaign in 2000, left for politically dead last summer, McCain has risen again, befitting a man who believes what he believes, who doesn't mince words to win popularity.
Take Iraq. Whether you agree we should be there or not, McCain is the one candidate who has the background as a former Navy pilot and Vietnam POW that makes him worth listening to when he says this country cannot fail in Iraq. At the same time, he's taken strong stands against the use of torture against suspected terrorists.
McCain's kind of honor says it is not worth it to gain popular approval for the sake of what he describes as "surrender" to forces that celebrate failure.
If he's nominated, Americans will have an opportunity to vote on our continued long-term presence in Iraq, which neither Obama, our choice for the Democratic nomination, nor Sen. Hillary Clinton supports.
McCain won in New Hampshire, and again in South Carolina -- and leads Romney in polling in California so far -- despite vociferous opposition from many prominent conservatives. Romney, with his business background -- and his stances, however calculated, on immigration and taxation -- seems to be their favorite, with a challenge from Huckabee, who does well with many Christian voters.
McCain has endorsed a cut in the corporate tax rate, and is talking about free markets and small government.
He's been willing to take unpopular stands on issues important to Californians, such as immigration, free trade and climate change.
Still, he needs to convince conservatives what moderates and independents already know.
He is the most electable Republican running and he's conservative enough. He's a politician who delivers straight talk; a man who has been down and doesn't stays there.
Vote for John McCain as the Republican nominee Feb. 5.
Read The Santa Cruz Sentinel Editorial: "As We See It: McCain Republican Choice"
###
The Bee Recommends: McCain
EditorialThe Sacramento BeeJanuary 20, 2008
For GOP, a nominee of principleWith no incumbent in the 2008 presidential race, the American people (and the Republican Party) face a clean break from the eight-year Bush presidency. That makes John McCain the clear choice for us. As a senator with 20 years experience, a former Navy pilot and Vietnam prisoner of war, McCain has the independence, moral compass and public service ethos to renew the presidency and his party.
McCain is a partisan Republican in the mold of Theodore Roosevelt. And, like T.R., he is not a prisoner of doctrinaire thinking or poisonous hyperpartisan politics.
On issues that matter to California -- such as immigration, climate change and free trade -- McCain has forged bipartisan coalitions and been willing to take unpopular stands.
Climate change is real; that debate is over, he says. He was an early leader in Congress in proposing "cap and trade" legislation to reduce emissions.
On immigration, he has been a national leader for a humane, realistic immigration policy that combines a guest-worker program, a path to citizenship and border enforcement. He insists that "America is still the land of opportunity. And we're not going to erect barriers and fences."
He has long insisted that "isolationism and protectionism are fool's errands."
McCain was one of two Republican senators to vote against President Bush's $1.35 trillion tax cut in 2001. He also voted against the proposed repeal of the federal estate tax in 2002 and the Bush tax cut of 2003 (though he voted to extend the Bush tax cuts in 2006). He has relentlessly fought to expose and eliminate wasteful pork projects.
With McCain, there would be no more presidential hedging on waterboarding or support for torture. "I'd close Guantnamo Bay and I'd declare we never torture another person in American custody," he has said. Terrorists, he insists, are "the quintessence of evil." But, he continues, "it's not about them; it's about us" -- what Americans stand for in the world.
The most important thing that McCain brings to the 2008 race is a clear position on the war in Iraq. He thinks we need more troops in Iraq. He's willing to endure a 100-year occupation or longer. He believes President Bush's surge is working. He remains committed to "Iraq's transformation into a progressive Arab state."
With all the Democratic candidates favoring phased withdrawal, McCain would provide the American people with a clear choice: Either vote for the candidate who wants to stay in Iraq indefinitely (McCain) or vote for the candidate who wants to get out (the Democrat).
Let us be clear: We believe McCain has an unduly rosy picture of Iraq and is wrongheaded in advocating long occupation. But he is a principled proponent of his view, and he would force the other side to present a strong case to the American people. We'd love to see Lincoln-Douglas style debates between McCain and the Democratic nominee -- on Iraq and all the great issues challenging this nation in a post-Bush world.
Read The Sacramento Bee Editorial: "The Bee Recommends: McCain"