Editorial: Clinton is best choice for W.Va. Democrats

Even at this late date, West Virginia is important as members of the Democratic Party slug it out in choosing their next candidate for president. It's been a long time since that has been true -- 1960, probably.

At this point, Democrats must ask themselves which of the two remaining candidates -- Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton -- would make the best candidate and which would make the best president. From here, the answer is the same person: Clinton.

Hillary Clinton could best stand up to Republican John McCain when the election campaign begins in earnest on Labor Day weekend. She provides the better choice for people looking to govern from the center.

She spent eight years in the White House as First Lady. She has spent the past 71/2 years in the U.S. Senate. People who have followed her Senate career say she knows how to get things done. She made some missteps early in this campaign, such as assuming the nomination was hers by default. When she faltered, she took the necessary steps to get back into contention.

Obama, on the other hand, is just a few years removed from being an Illinois legislator. He does not have the broad range of experience in dealing with the problems and crises that come with being president. He is an excellent campaigner, but he has yet to show he would be a better president than Clinton.

Some of the most important decisions a president makes is who he -- or she -- chooses for Cabinet and other top-level positions. Based on their careers, it appears Clinton is far ahead of Obama in being able to assemble a team of people who will be able to carry out her decisions.

This race is far from over. Clinton is behind, and unless she concedes, it could continue until the party convention in Denver this summer. Clinton makes good points about how she is more likely to win the presidency than Obama. She and her viewpoints are a closer match to those of a majority of Americans than Obama's. She has had all sorts of negative attacks thrown at her, yet she remains in the race.

Those are qualities a president needs to deal with an unstable situation in the Middle East, an uncertain future in Russia and an uneasy economic situation here at home.

West Virginians' votes could help decide who the next nominee of the Democratic Party will be. The Republican Party has a candidate in John McCain who will be difficult to beat among some of the groups Democrats need for victory. The best person the Democratic Party could offer to the American people at this time would be the one who has been tested the most and who remains standing. That person is Hillary Clinton.