America is at war overseas and in an economic crisis here at home. Many of her citizens believe the country is on the wrong track. It is for times such as these that men like John McCain are made, to put country first so that it can be put right in its time of need. For this reason, The Examiner endorses McCain for president and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, for vice president.

Cut through the high-toned speeches and campaign cut and thrust, and the pre-eminent issues of 2008 become strikingly clear. First, the next president must have the hard-earned experience, unrelenting toughness and uncompromising character to wage and win the war against al Qaeda and other terrorists who seek the destruction of America. Second, he must have an unshakable commitment to restoring honest taxing and spending by government at all levels, the essential first step of which is ridding Washington of pork-barrel “earmarks,” the gateway drug to budget deficits and political corruption.