Hillary Clinton Scores Her Biggest Endorsement Yet

With the Iowa caucuses looming on Monday, The New York Times formally endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination in the 2016 presidential race.

In an editorial, the Gray Lady emphasized the former senator, Secretary of State, and First Lady as deeply qualified to run the nation; more so than her Democratic rivals, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders and former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley:

"... Mr. Sanders does not have the breadth of experience or policy ideas that Mrs. Clinton offers. His boldest proposals -- to break up the banks and to start all over on health care reform with a Medicare-for-all system -- have earned him support among alienated middle-class voters and young people. But his plans for achieving them aren't realistic, while Mrs. Clinton has very good, and achievable, proposals in both areas.

The third Democratic contender, Martin O'Malley, is a personable and reasonable liberal who seems more suited for the jobs he has already had -- governor of Maryland and mayor of Baltimore -- than for president."

The newspaper's editorial board also emphasized her strong record on gun control, pay equity, and women's rights, the latter of which she cemented in a speech in China as First Lady. The Times also highlighted Clinton's gravitas on the international stage and her various successes as Secretary of State, though it did say her use of a private email server deserves "forthright answers."

The New York Times made no mention of LGBT rights, of which Clinton has fully embraced, especially when she began her tenure as Secretary of State in 2008. Clinton, who recently received the endorsement of the nation's most influential LGBT advocacy group, the Human Rights Campaign, has been competing with Sanders on who is the most committed to equality of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. Support for Clinton and Sanders among the LGBT electorate has been fierce.

The Times mostly dismissed the Republican candidates in the Clinton editorial, describing the current field as a race to the bottom where contenders are "competing, bizarrely, to present themselves as the least experienced person for the most important elected job in the world." The newspaper did endorse Ohio gov. John Kasich as the only "plausible choice" for the GOP nomination.