The poll found Obama leads McCain 54 percent to 39 percent, a one point gain for Obama from the Lee Enterprise poll in September. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

“I think Obama’s going to carry Iowa comfortably,” said pollster Del Ali, whose firm Research 2000 conducted the survey.

One of the surpries of the poll was that only 29 percent of voters polled said they would be less likely to vote for McCain because of his outspoken opposition to ethanol subsidies, a position many observers felt was the Republican’s achillies heal in Iowa. Only 38 percent of voters ranked the candidates’ positions on ethanol as important or very important in making their decision.

Boiling the election down to a battle between “experience or change” doesn’t do this historic vote justice, the paper said, and those words don’t begin to cover all requirements for the next president.

What about temperament, judgment, decision-making and knowledge? How about stamina, education and ethics?

These are among the considerations that support our enthusiastic endorsement of Barack Obama for president of the United States.

The McCain the paper endorsed during the caucuses is gone, replaced by “campaign doublespeak and some fairly awful decisions for the guy wearing the experience mantle.” But his choice of running mate is what gave the eastern Iowa paper the most pause.

Sarah Palin’s populist appeal holds promise. Her soaring political career track from hockey mom to Alaska governor simply isn’t enough to merit the giant step to the Oval Office.

We don’t question her potential. But today, she clearly is not ready to assume the presidency.

The thing that clinched the endorsement, the paper said, was that during each of its editorial meetings with Obama as state senator, U.S. Senator and presidential candidate “we’ve experienced consistent character, superior intellect, engaging curiosity and specific knowledge of our Quad-Cities.”

We weren’t quite there last January when change began in Iowa. We are now.

The paper endorsed Democrat John Kerry in 2004. Before that it had only endorsed a Democrat once since 1972.