As always in presidential elections, we face a choice next month between two imperfect human beings, John McCain and Barack Obama.
I haven't been entirely pleased with McCain's campaign, which has been uninspired to say the least. His message, if you read the polls, simply hasn't connected. Nor has he succeeded in highlighting the considerable flaws in Obama's tax plan, which would raise taxes despite the weakened state of the economy.
Yet, to me, McCain is the only reasonable choice. He would hold the line on taxes by retaining the Bush tax cuts, which helped the economy recover rapidly from the last recession. He would lower the corporate tax rate, now the second-highest in the developed world. He would lower the capital gains rate to 7.5 percent for the next two years.
He would hold down federal spending. He has been critical of farm subsidies (which Obama has supported). He would uphold the nation's free-trade tradition — a matter of utmost importance in a time of global economic stress. He has the experience to be commander-in-chief, a claim Obama cannot even remotely make.
Read the full editorial on KansasCity.com. E. Thomas McClanahan, a member of the Kansas City Star's editorial board, dissents from the newspaper's endorsement of Barack Obama.