Vote Biden, Merkley, Bonamici

Let’s get something straight at the outset. Our endorsement for president of the United States goes to Joe Biden of Delaware, who has prepared himself for the highest office in the land with 36 years of service as a U.S. senator and eight as the nation’s 47th vice president.

We have made our views clear on the incumbent, real estate mogul and television personality Donald Trump, on multiple previous occasions.

We regard him as unfit for public office, particularly the presidency. Enough said on that score.

Joe Biden is an honest and honorable man. He is compassionate, empathetic, earnest and decent. He puts America’s interests first, not his own. He’s a uniter, not a divider.

Biden takes thoughtful, reasonable approaches to the issues of the day, surrounding himself with distinguished advisers and carefully weighing their counsel. He would never stoop to bombarding us on an almost hourly basis with attack tweets.

Our decisions are equally easy at the top of the home ticket. We have no hesitation in recommending U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici for re-election.

Merkley and Bonamici are both products of the Oregon Legislature. And both have honored our state by going on to distinguish themselves in Washington, D.C.

Merkley has grown into a national figure in the Senate, to the point he was widely supported as a potential 2020 presidential candidate. Bonamici has compiled an exemplary record of her own in the House, and ably looked out for the interests of Oregon’s 1st District in the bargain.

That view is widely shared. As evidence, one need look no further than the challengers the GOP has put forward. 

The party’s Senate standard-bearer is QAnon conspiracy theory advocate Jo Rae Perkins of Albany, whose background is in banking, real estate and insurance. She has never held elective office, but ran losing campaigns for House and Senate nominations in 2014, 2016 and 2018.

Her chances rate little better than those of Libertarian Gary Dye or Progressive and Pacific Green Ibrahim Taher. And given her extraordinary fringe views, Oregonians can take solace.

The opposition to Bonamici is being carried by Christopher Christensen of Beaverton, who makes his living as a lobbyist and real estate consultant.

He has no record of previous electoral involvement, either as a candidate or office-holder. He portrays himself as a free-market constitutionalist.

Christensen seems well-intended. But we think he might be better advised to start somewhere other than the U.S. House, where we expect candidates to have met the test at lower levels.