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A "hugely impressed" New York Times endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic White House nomination in yesterday's edition, praising her intellect, experience and capacity to unite America.
The glowing endorsement was a valuable boost for the former first lady and senator from New York, as she fights an intense battle with Illinois Senator Barack Obama.
In a rebuke for former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, the paper chose to endorse Senator John McCain on the Republican side, though its backing was less important for him than for Clinton, as many conservatives revile the paper.
In a valuable boost for Clinton, who some critics, including backers of Obama, see as polarising, the Times editorial board said that the paper's home state representative in the Senate was "capable of both uniting and leading".
"Hearing her talk about the presidency, her policies and answers for America's big problems, we are hugely impressed by the depth of her knowledge, by the force of her intellect and by the breadth of, yes, her experience."
The paper praised Clinton for her come-from-behind victory in the New Hampshire primary after her stunning defeat by Obama in the lead-off Iowa caucuses, as well as her win in the Nevada caucuses.
"Her new openness to explaining herself and not just her programmes, and her abiding, powerful intellect show she is fully capable" of uniting America, the paper said.
"She is the best choice for the Democratic Party as it tries to regain the White House."
