Los Angeles Times & La Opinion!

What a beautiful endorsement for my man Barak Obama:

Democrats preparing to vote in Tuesday's California primary can mark their ballots with confidence, knowing that eithercandidate would make a strong nominee and, if elected, a groundbreaking leader and capable president. But just because the ballot features two strong candidates does not mean that it is difficult to choose between them. We urge voters to make the most of this historic moment by choosing the Democrat most focused on steering the nation toward constructive change: We strongly endorse Barack Obama.

The U.S. senator from Illinois distinguishes himself as an inspiring leader who cuts through typical internecine campaign bickering and appeals to Americans long weary of divisive and destructive politics. He electrifies young voters, not because he is young but because he embodies the desire to move to the next chapter of the American story. He brings with him deep knowledge of foreign relations and of this nation's particular struggles with identity and opportunity. His flair for expression, both in print and on the stump, too easily leads observers to forget that Obama is a man not just of style but of substance. He's a thoughtful student of the Constitution and an experienced lawmaker in his home state and, for the last three years, in the Senate.

On policy, Obama and his rival Democratic candidate, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, are a hairsbreadth apart. Both vow to pull troops from Iraq. Both are committed to healthcare reform. Both offer candid critiques of the failed George W. Bush presidency, its blustering adventurism, its alienating stance toward other countries and its cavalier disregard for sacred American values such as individual liberty and due process of law.

With two candidates so closely aligned on the issues, we look to their abilities and potential as leaders and their record of action in service of their stated ideals. Clinton is an accomplished public servant whose election would provide familiarity and, most important, competence in the White House, where for seven years it has been lacking. But experience has value only if it is accompanied by courage and leads to judgment.

Nowhere was that judgment more needed than in 2003, when Congress was called upon to accept or reject the disastrous Iraq invasion. Clinton faced a test and failed, joining the stampede as Congress voted to authorize war. At last week's debate and in previous such sessions, Clinton blamed Bush for abusing the authority she helped to give him, and she has made much of the fact that Obama was not yet in the Senate and didn't face the same test. But Obama was in public life, saw the danger of the invasion and the consequences of occupation, and he said so. He was right.

Obama demonstrates as well that he is open-eyed about the terrorist threat posed to the nation and would not shrink from military action when it is warranted. He does not oppose all wars, he has famously stated, but rather "dumb wars." He also has the edge in economic policy, less because of particular planks in his platform than because of his understanding that some liberal orthodoxies developed during the last 40 years have been overtaken by history. He offers leadership on education, technology policy and environmental protection unfettered by the positions of previous administrations.

By contrast, Clinton's return to the White House that she occupied for eight years as first lady would resurrect some of the triumph and argument of that era. Yes, Bill Clinton's presidency was a period of growth and opportunity, and Democrats are justly nostalgic for it. But it also was a time of withering political fire, as the former president's recent comments on the campaign trail reminded the nation. Hillary Clinton's election also would drag into a third decade the post-Reagan political duel between two families, the Bushes and the Clintons. Obama is correct: It is time to turn the page.

An Obama presidency would present, as a distinctly American face, a man of African descent, born in the nation's youngest state, with a childhood spent partly in Asia, among Muslims. No public relations campaign could do more than Obama's mere presence in the White House to defuse anti-American passion around the world, nor could any political experience surpass Obama's life story in preparing a president to understand the American character. His candidacy offers Democrats the best hope of leading America into the future, and gives Californians the opportunity to cast their most exciting and consequential ballot in a generation.

In the language of metaphor, Clinton is an essay, solid and reasoned; Obama is a poem, lyric and filled with possibility. Clinton would be a valuable and competent executive, but Obama matches her in substance and adds something that the nation has been missing for far too long -- a sense of aspiration.

emphasis added on that last paragraph - this coming from a paper that has not endorsed a presidential candidate since 1972, that's awesome!

And La Opinion the premier Spanish Newspaper in the nation:

El Partido Demócrata llega a la primaria de California con una oferta histórica entre dos candidatos extraordinarios. Creemos que entre ellos el senador Barack Obama representa realmente el cambio en una campaña en que "el cambio" es el tema central. Los puntos sobre inmigración del legislador de Illinois y su visión inspiradora es lo que necesita el país para salir del sentimiento actual de agotamiento político.

No hay duda de que la senadora Hillary Clinton sería una presidenta excelente si fuera electa. Es una mujer capaz, competente, disciplinada y trabajadora que ha demostrado talento como legisladora y que tiene la posición correcta en la mayoría de los temas. Su plan para un seguro de salud universal es un ejemplo de las valiosas iniciativas que ha propuesto la candidata. Sería grandioso poder elegir a la primera mujer presidente de esta nación.

La senadora ha obtenido un respaldo significativo de influyentes y reconocidos líderes nacionales latinos como Raúl Yzaguirre, Henry Cisneros y el alcalde Antonio Villaraigosa. Ella trabajó arduamente durante muchos años representando el mejor interés de los latinos y su compromiso personal esta documentado a lo largo de esta campaña.

Sin embargo, este es un momento histórico donde la gran capacidad y experiencia de la senadora es insuficiente para brindar al país el sentido de renovación que necesita después de ocho años de George W. Bush.

Nos ha desilusionado también la calculada oposición de Clinton a las licencias de conducir para los indocumentados, que contrasta con la contundencia de los argumentos de Obama a favor de las mismas. Sabemos que eso es muy controversial, pero hay una sola posición correcta y es la del legislador de Illinois. Ambos senadores respaldan una reforma integral de inmigración, pero Obama es el único que se comprometió a presentar de nuevo el proyecto de ley durante su primer año de gobierno.

Ese mismo compromiso con el tema migratorio llevó a Obama a condenar en un debate las mentiras que se dicen maliciosamente sobre ellos; a comprender la necesidad de las licencias y a defender a los estudiantes indocumentados con la coautoría del DREAM Act en la Legislatura. El senador ha mostrado carácter, manteniendo su línea pese al antagonismo del clima político.

Al mismo tiempo, no existe una gran diferencia entre los dos demócratas en la mayoría de los temas más importantes; por eso la visión marca la diferencia. Obama tiene un mensaje inclusivo y de esperanza, necesario para los momentos que vive el país. Él reúne las condiciones conciliadoras para revertir el círculo vicioso de rencor que desde hace décadas predomina en Washing-ton y paraliza las grandes decisiones necesarias.

Necesitamos un presidente que de nuevo inspire y una a los ciudadanos alrededor de las grandes posibilidades que nos brinda el futuro. Obama es el líder adecuado para este momento. Sabemos que no es muy conocido en nuestra comunidad y si bien tiene el respaldo de María Elena Durazo, del senador Gil Cedillo y de otros. No obstante, es quien hoy merece el respaldo de la comunidad latina.

Los demócratas ya están haciendo historia al tener que decidir su candidato a presidente entre una mujer y un afroamericano.

Barak Obama tiene la sensibilidad de un origen humilde, de un hogar multicultural y es la mejor opción para un cambio visionario.

Si Se Puede!!!

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