The Boston Globe endorsed Democratic nominee Barack Obama for president Tuesday, saying the Illinois Democrat has the "vision to restore this country to its place of leadership in the world."

[img_assist|nid=227|title=Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama (D-Ill.)|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=144|height=180]In its editorial, the Globe emphasizes that Obama has looked forward while his rivals, both in the primary and in the general election, were still waging old conflicts.

"Obama isn't refighting the political or cultural battles of the 1960s," the Globe writes, "Instead, he is asking Americans to take responsibility for the nation's problems now; no one else will take care of them, and the consequences of years of disunity and profligacy should not be visited upon future generations."

Above all else, the Globe praises Obama for his temperament and open mindedness. From the intense scrutiny Obama has been under since delivering his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, the speech that put him on the national political scene, Obama has shown "a nimble mind, an ever more impressive grasp of policy detail, and an ability to listen to contradictory viewpoints," the Globe writes. "Obama is clearly a liberal. But when he led the Harvard Law Review, he won praise from conservative thinkers because he genuinely wanted to hear what they had to say."

Ultimately, the Globe concludes that Obama is the best qualified candidate to tackle the financial crisis and other challenges the country faces.

"The United States has to dig itself out," the Globe writes. "Barack Obama is the one to lead the way."

In a second editorial Tuesday, the Globe also criticized Republican nominee John McCain, who it endorsed in the Republican primary this year. Under the headline "A maverick no more," the Globe writes that McCain tailored his policy positions to adhere to his party's base, something he rarely did during his 2000 presidential run and in this year's primary.

"His reputation as a maverick, always a bit overburnished by his own retelling," the Globe writes, "is now in tatters."

The Globe also criticizes McCain's selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.

"Campaigns are crucibles, and this one has revealed McCain to be erratic, out of touch with ordinary Americans, and, with Palin as his shotgun messenger, too quick with the sneer, smear, and division," the Globe concludes. "He has been a profound disappointment, and he is unfit to lead the nation into its perilous future."