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The overarching question surrounding the 2008 presidential election is whether this nation can lift itself from the financial and political morass that threatens its prosperity, its security and its very future. To be successful, this country needs a strong leader who can pave a new course that improves the lives of Americans and others around the globe.

We believe that U.S. Sen. Barack Obama can be that leader.

The election of Obama on Nov. 4 does not guarantee that he will be able to deliver immediately on the ambitious agenda of change that he has been discussing and developing with Americans for the past 20 months. Nor will his selection solve the world's economic crisis. But electing Obama next month does declare to the entire world that a new, positive and optimistic course has been set for America, with attainable and desirable goals that will lift up the 305 million people who call this country home.

Obama, D-Ill., and his opponent, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., have squared off in three national televised debates and have survived a demanding primary season to get to this point. Even though he lacks the experience of McCain, we believe Obama has demonstrated himself to be the more knowledgeable, serious, stable and articulate candidate — and he has the most comprehensive agenda for getting America back on its feet.

As much as we respect the loyal and courageous service of Sen. McCain in the military and in Congress, his record of supporting the Bush administration's policies, particularly his support for the costly and unnecessary war in Iraq; his impulsive and improvident selection of an ill-prepared running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin; and his negative, conflicted and uneven campaign lead us to believe that he is not the man to lead the nation at a time when extraordinary change is needed. Frankly, the tenor of his campaign has been alarming lately — with fevered McCain-Palin crowds fed a diet of innuendo and fear about Obama — even though McCain himself told a crowd in Minnesota on Oct. 10 that "he (Obama) is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States." His own supporters then booed him.

As much as McCain tries to run from the shadow of President George W. Bush, he has not sufficiently explained why his presidency would not be an extension of the out-of-touch Bush administration.

Sacrifice and public service are clearly part of that hopeful Obama vision, and we believe most Americans are hungry to hear a president who can articulate our goals clearly, honestly and thoughtfully. We Americans are ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work fixing this nation's formidable problems — the economy, health care, foreign relations, our crumbling infrastructure, the education gap, illegal immigration, the environment and our reliance on foreign oil.

Obama's agenda for education, comprehensive health-care reform and changing Washington's intensely partisan culture is needed and — compared to McCain's — best fits the needs of most Americans. Although it appears certain that the economic crisis will hinder either candidate's efforts to deliver on promised programs, we believe Obama's call for change is in tune with the 86 percent of Americans — a number Newsweek calls "astounding" — who currently believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. Specifically, Obama's agenda calls for:

• A universal health care plan by the end of his first term, at a time when some 45 million Americans (including about 40,000 Butler County residents in 2007) lack health insurance — a number likely to rise if the economy continues to worsen and more Americans lose their jobs and fall into poverty. Most importantly, Obama's plan mandates that all children have health care coverage.

• A number of planned measures — including tax breaks for working families, fairer foreign trade policies to protect American jobs, cracking down on predatory lenders, expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act, restoring fiscal discipline in Washington, and protecting Social Security and other retirement savings — aimed at restoring some of the ground lost by the middle class over the last eight years. Over the two George W. Bush terms, U.S. unemployment rose from 3.9 percent in September 2000 to 6.1 percent in September 2008 (in Butler County, from a 2000 average of 3.6 percent to 6.7 percent in mid-2008.) The number of home foreclosures continues to explode, fueling the current economic crisis. In Butler County, 2,300 homes were foreclosed on in 2007, and this year's number may be higher. Nationally, the other component of the so-called "Misery Index," inflation, has risen from 2.74 percent in January 2000 to the current 5.37 percent. Ohio — expected again to be a deciding "swing" state in the Nov. 4 election — has been particularly hard hit during the Bush years, losing more than 236,000 jobs.

• "No Child Left Behind," launched by President Bush here in Butler County, had the right goals, according to Obama, but lacked adequate funding and wasn't implemented correctly. Obama plans to reform NCLB, as well as attack America's high dropout rate and soaring college costs, and emphasize teacher recruitment and retention. "Now is the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy," Obama said in his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in August.

• Energy independence and global warming are inextricably linked in Obama's view, and ridding America of its addiction to foreign oil requires investing in clean energy solutions, improving energy efficiency and reducing our carbon emissions significantly over the next 40 years. He also wants the United States to take a stronger leadership role in addressing worldwide climate change issues.

• Perhaps the most divisive issue of President George W. Bush's tenure has been the Iraq war and the reckless manner in which the war on terrorism has been conducted. Obama's pledge to draw down our troop presence in Iraq is not only the correct one for the country strategically, but we obviously cannot continue to spend $10 billion a month in Iraq while our own economy is floundering and while the situation in Afghanistan worsens. We also believe an Obama administration would correct some of the serious errors — lack of diplomacy, unchecked use of unsanctioned interrogation techniques, civil rights violations — that have marred Bush's conduct of the war and grievously injured our standing in the world.

• Obama's election also would likely produce more moderate Supreme Court appointments to offset the ultra-conservative choices which were made during both Bush administrations and which threaten to turn back the clock on much of the social progress made in this nation in the 20th century. This election will determine which man — Obama or McCain — will make those all-important selections to the nation's highest court.

We believe the rest of the world would warmly embrace an Obama presidency and his more sophisticated world view. This is important if we wish to continue to be the world's leading democracy, promoting free trade, human rights, diplomacy and peace. It's also important if we wish to build coalitions with other nations to fight the threat of terrorism in the world. But we must first set a shining example; eight years of the Bush White House has left our reputation severely tarnished throughout the world.

We have squandered the sympathy, support and respect that the rest of the world offered us on Sept. 12, 2001. We have gone from fretting pompously about our role as the "world's policeman" in the post-Cold War era to being the world's most prominent debtor. Our policies and direction must change.

Obama has been criticized by his political opponents and some voters for his relative lack of political experience, and they're correct — he does not have the typical pedigree of the Washington politicians who have led us to this perilous point in our history. Since the inspirational 2004 convention speech that launched his national political career ("There's not a liberal America and a conservative America — there's the United States of America"), Obama has been an agent of change. If anyone can help erase the Blue State/Red State division that makes any constructive political discourse in this country nearly impossible, it's Barack Obama.

Obama has demonstrated the maturity, needed pragmatism, genuine concern and calm understanding of the historic challenges that our nation faces. That is why this newspaper endorses Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States.

Who will you vote for?