The Sun Journal editorial Oct. 26 endorsed the 2000 John McCain for president – but not the McCain who’s running this year. Essentially, it asked people to hope the McCain of 2000 will take office and ignore the current negative and erratic McCain who has 90 percent of the time sided with President Bush.

Sorry, we just can’t take that chance. On issue after issue – energy, tax policy, economics – the current McCain is totally at odds with the 2000 version and, despite the Sun Journal’s editorial assertion to the contrary, completely aligned with President Bush.

And on the conduct of the campaign itself – McCain’s campaign has been almost completely negative – he’s adopted the same Bush-Karl Rove tactics he so rightly decried eight years ago.

On the all-important question of the economy, he has squarely lined up with the now discredited idea that what’s needed to get the nation out of the current economic mess is more tax cuts for the wealthy. That has been tried, and all anyone has to do is look around at the wreckage of the economy to see it hasn’t worked.

Nobody made McCain take this position, and there is no reason to believe he secretly believes differently. That McCain wants to cut taxes on the wealthy and Barack Obama wants to cut taxes on the middle class tells me all I need to know about who they are and what they think will work for the country.

But the editorial slid by what is the central issue in this election – judgment and who will make good decisions in the crunch.

Obama has shown (especially in the financial meltdown) he is smart, gets the facts first, listens to good people, stays calm, and comes to decisions that make sense. McCain has shown pretty much the opposite.

The editorial correctly observed, for example, that Sarah Palin “was a risky choice for vice president, and is unproven, at best.” The key word is “risky”; my concern is not so much with who he chose, but how he chose. By all accounts, McCain spoke with her twice (about 20 minutes each) and made this critical decision on the spur of the moment, one day before it was announced.

Wow. Ask yourself if this is how you would decide to hire the second most important person in your company.

I’m responding to the editorial, but I’m not against McCain; I’m for Obama.

Throughout our history, tough times have called forth the greatest leaders, often from unlikely places and improbable circumstances. This year, it’s happened again. I believe Barack Obama is a once-in-a-generation leader – and will make a truly great president.

Angus King, Brunswick