The Washington Post endorses 'resilient and smart' Hillary Clinton for president

Washington: The Washington Post on Thursday became the latest US newspaper to endorse Hillary Clinton for the White House, saying it was swayed as much by her competence as the disastrous specter of a Donald Trump presidency. [caption id=“attachment_3011610” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of Hillary Clinton. AP[/caption] “Hillary Clinton has the potential to be an excellent president of the United States, and we endorse her without hesitation,” the influential US daily wrote, adding, “no, we are not making this endorsement simply because Ms Clinton’s chief opponent is dreadful.” Clinton, in contrast, “is dogged, resilient, purposeful and smart,” the newspaper wrote, while acknowledging her many political and personal missteps in the past — failings it said are outweighed by her strengths. “She has executive experience. She does not let her feelings get in the way of the job at hand. She is well positioned to get something done,” the daily wrote. The newspaper took note of the former first lady’s litany of shortcomings, writing: “We recognise that many Americans distrust and dislike Ms Clinton. The negative feelings reflect in part the bitter partisanship of the nation’s politics today; in part the dishonest attacks she has been subjected to for decades; and in part her genuine flaws, missteps and weaknesses. “We are not blind to those,” wrote The Post, which nevertheless gave Clinton its full-throated support. The Post editorial made little mention of Trump, the bombastic real estate magnate who is the Republican nominee for next month’s presidential election. Trump has been eviscerated by the editorial board of The Post and many other leading US newspapers in numerous other opinion pieces over the past several weeks, as the raucous US election heads for the final few weeks. Earlier, The Atlantic had endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, making it the magazine’s third time: it endorsed Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. T_he Atlantic_ has endorsed only three presidential candidates in its 159 years. Even as it was impressed by Clinton’s qualities, the magazine noted that it was “exasperated” and concerned with Donald Trump’s, “who might be the most ostentatiously unqualified major-party candidate in the 227-year history of the American presidency”. The Atlantic did admit that the Democratic Party’s candidate did have “some legitimately troubling” faults, but maintained that she was among the “most prepared” to seek presidency. With inputs from AFP