Newspaper endorses McCain, Clinton

? The Des Moines Register’s editorial board is endorsing Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton ahead of the state’s Jan. 3 presidential caucuses, contending they top the field in competence and readiness to lead in a time of dissension at home and distrust and peril abroad.

Weighing in on a tight Democratic race, the statewide paper’s board said in its endorsement Saturday night that Democratic challenger Barack Obama “inspired our imaginations. But it was Clinton who inspired our confidence.”