There is no doubt that promise trumps experience when it comes to Barack Obama. We believe, however, that the Illinois senator captures the spirit of our time and has the greatest potential to make a difference.

This endorsement does not come without risk, but promise and progress can’t be achieved without taking it. By voting for Barack Obama, Americans can bury the Bush years and begin anew - domestically and abroad.

With his unique message of unity and common purpose, Obama has the capacity to reject politics of division and move America forward in a way that Hillary Clinton — for all her positive attributes — does not.

The differences between Obama and Clinton on most policy issues are few, if any. Wrangling with Congress necessary to enact any president’s agenda makes them even less significant. But his is the clearer vision.

On the most important political decision of this decade, only Barack Obama was right. Hillary Clinton was not. Period. He opposed the war in Iraq from the very beginning. He now offers the best chance for a fresh start.

For further reading, we recommend Andrew Sullivan’s piece in the December issue of The Atlantic, entitled “Goodbye to All That.” Putting the 2008 election in a historical context, he makes a compelling case for Obama.

One interesting footnote: while urging an Obama presidency, Sullivan calls a Clinton-Rudy Giuliani race “inevitable.” This was only published in December. What a difference a few weeks can make in politics.