The Chronicle, in keeping with its editorial responsibility after hosting the third and final presidential debate, endorses Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for president of the United States.
The Chronicle feels Obama will bring change to our country, as he is neither President Bush nor a Republican. His policy proposals represent a sharp break from the past eight years. John McCain simply represents the Bush presidency–on steroids.
Obama appeals to our generation; his campaign revolutionized how technology is used to mobilize voters by encouraging people to directly participate in the campaign.
By giving young people equal voice in the process, it gives all of us a stake in the action.
The Chronicle supports Obama’s higher education plan, which he said will give a $4,000 tax credit to be used towards college tuition in exchange for community service. Our generation is the most self-sacrificing one in decades.
Additionally, Obama said he will simplify the application process for financial aid, a big deal for many students who have to fill out the long and tedious Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) every year.
The Obama tax plan, which calls for cutting taxes on the middle class and working people while raising them on people earning more than $250,000 a year is a sensible way to create jobs and restore fairness to the tax system the Bush administration used to line the pockets of its wealthy friends.
Only Obama’s energy plan encourages innovation and bold experimentation. It includes creating five million “green collar” jobs and ensuring that 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012. Simply chanting “Drill, baby, drill,” won’t wean the U.S. off foreign oil.
The Obama health care plan provides health care to everyone, without forcing people to go on the government tab. Its mix of private-sector and public-sector solutions gives the people who cannot afford medical care the help they need while allowing those who have health care they like to stay on their current plan.
The international community recognizes Obama as the next president as well, best exemplified when 200,000 people turned out to see him in Berlin this past July.
The Chronicle also supports the Senator’s wife, Michelle, and sees her as a symbol of class, fashion and general good taste.