Excerpts from recent newspaper endorsements of presidential candidates John McCain, a Republican, and Barack Obama, a Democrat.

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The Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette endorsed McCain on Nov. 2:

The United States and the world are on the brink of a major economic recession. Our nation also is troubled by unending war against terrorism, immigration laws in desperate need of reform and spiraling health care costs.

But at the top of this mountain of challenges is the economy — the engine that drives so much of our daily lives and determines so much of our future. At a time like this, we cannot succumb to panic. We must not throw wrenches in our path to economic recovery. And as the Great Depression taught us, the worst remedy for this country's problems would be higher taxes for individuals and businesses.

Comparing the two major presidential candidates, Sen. John McCain's approach is best aligned to spur economic recovery. This is the overriding reason The Gazette Editorial Board endorses the Republican Arizona senator over Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

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The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette endorsed Obama on Nov. 2:

While mostly an enabler of the Bush world view, Mr. McCain has been a sometime maverick in the past. That happy warrior, however, was missing in this campaign. Laboring under the long shadow of the White House record, his campaign has gone further into the shadows, reduced to peddling fear and guilt by association. The ticket has not put country first, but lust for power.

The campaign of Barack Obama has been like day and night compared to this torrent of smears. Sen. Obama has counter-punched, but he has kept his dignity and focus. His eloquent grace and his commitment to speak directly to issues that matter to Americans — ending the war in Iraq, bringing tax relief to the middle class — have stamped him as presidential in both judgment and temperament.

His very presence on the campaign trail has refuted all the desperate slanders about him. He is what you thought he was: A decent, reasonable and intelligent American who is the only hope to bring real change.

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The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review endorsed McCain on Nov. 2:

The only truly experienced leader in this race — the gentleman whose resume actually is worthy of the phrase — is John McCain, 72, war hero, former congressman and longtime U.S. senator of Arizona.

John McCain is fiercely independent. And he makes no apologies for the principles he holds dear, even if they be at odds with the traditional party base. But he has never wavered in his core belief of what Republicanism (with a capital "R") and republicanism (with a lowercase "r") are all about: Small government. Fiscal discipline. Low taxes. A strong defense. And a judiciary that does not legislate from the bench.

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The (Springfield, Ill.) State Journal-Register endorsed Obama Nov. 2.

We believe this country needs healing internally to end the class and cultural warfare that has reached levels today we never thought we'd see again after 9/11. The United States' current international image as the world's bully must be reformed if we hope to effect stability in regions that are now hotbeds of terrorism and nuclear adventurism. Economic recovery, as we see it, is dependent on those goals.

For those critical efforts, we believe Barack Obama is the best choice as our next president.

Throughout a grueling primary campaign that began here at the Old State Capitol, Obama went from extreme underdog to the confident, self-assured candidate of the Democratic Party. His poise on the campaign trail since then is no surprise to us. We saw it in person four years ago when he was a candidate for the U.S. Senate and, later, when he met with The State Journal-Register editorial board again after winning his Senate seat. Thoughtful, engaging and intellectually nimble, Obama exuded a sense of quiet self-confidence rare among politicians.