Our choice of Coakley may be surprising to some. Her major opponent is state Sen. Scott Brown, R-Wrentham, a local figure we have endorsed in the past for state Senate, and he is supported by a minority on our editorial board.

There's much to be said for endorsing a local candidate. However, we have an insurmountable problem. To paraphrase words Brown applied to his Democratic opponent, "he's a nice man, but he's wrong on all the issues."

Brown initially took a militant stand against gay marriage, which we have consistently supported. While he has softened his position some, his outlook on equal rights in a private matter remains worrisome.

After voicing support in this space for health care reform, we can't very well back Brown when he is promising to submarine national health care on his own as "the 41st Republican senator." We are left instead to wonder how he sees himself as a fitting successor to Sen. Edward Kennedy, who made health care reform a signature issue, while planning to spoil the best chance for reform the nation has ever had.

After making our view plain that the United States does better not to lower itself to the level of nations who use torture in pursuit of information, we cannot endorse Brown when he issues statements that water boarding is not torture and should be employed by our nation.

We have no doubts about Brown's patriotism and commend him for his three decades of service in the National Guard and rank as a lieutenant colonel in the Judge Advocate General Corps. This, however, hardly translates into foreign policy expertise. The thin skin he has shown at times, notably at a King Philip Regional High School assembly, would be a handicap in the Senate chambers. He may have a desirably harder line than Coakley on fiscal issues, but his extreme positions on choice, gender, and other social questions are out of step for our pluralistic society.

Coakley is pro-health care reform, with qualifications regarding abortion amendments. Her jobs and economy platform is well-thought-out and detailed, while Brown hangs his hat on a return to free enterprise. She is firmly committed to same-sex marriage rights.

Coakley has established herself as a leader. Her work on the foreclosure crisis in Massachusetts is evidence that she is ready to serve the people's interests while dealing with the big players in Washington.

She deserves your vote on Tuesday.

The third candidate in the special election, Joseph L. Kennedy, is running on the Libertarian ticket. He is even more ardently opposed to health care reform than Brown. Kennedy is not ready for prime time and his Libertarian no-government-interference stance on the economy is a non-starter in Washington. He is given virtually zero chance of winning, but we are happy to see him in the face. Third parties' heads need to stay above water in Massachusetts in order to offer an alternative to Democrat and Republican platforms too often crafted to please their more extreme wings.