One of his greatest miscalculations was the selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate, a pick McCain made after just two meetings and a phone call with the Alaska governor, not yet two years into her first term.

Palin was exciting initially, a potential voice for change, and someone who shared McCain's "maverick" sensibilities. But in the weeks since her selection, she has been revealed as not much more than a sideshow, someone with very limited range on issues and almost none of the depth expected in a cabinet secretary, let alone vice president, or president.

On Obama:

[H]is judgment, across the board, is what makes BARACK OBAMA the stronger candidate to be America's 44th president.

Portland Oregonian:

Obama has the best chance, and the best abilities, to rebuild an American economy that has grown dangerously unstable, with government, consumers and the nation itself spiraling deeply into debt and selling off the national future to pay for daily expenses. He is the best choice to rebuild the American position in the world, to restore our ties with traditional allies, to re-make the American argument to the rest of the world.

Contrasting Obama and McCain on their first important judgment as nominees:

Two particular issues, on presidential-level appointments, reinforce our endorsement.

In the first major choice made by any nominee, Obama showed considerably better judgment. His pick for running mate, Joe Biden, has an extensive background, especially in foreign policy, and the clear capacity to be a significant asset to an Obama administration, much as Al Gore was to Bill Clinton.

McCain's choice, in stunning contrast, has a background of a year and a half as governor of Alaska, and has claimed, with a straight face, that she has national security credentials because from Alaska you can see Russia. Supporting her, McCain has offered the equally jaw-dropping claim that Sarah Palin knows more about energy than anyone else in the United States.

Having Palin a heartbeat from the presidency makes our own heart miss a beat. [Emphasis supplied.]

Sarah Palin will go down as the biggest miscalculation by a presidential candidate in decades.