WASHINGTON, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama won the endorsement of The Washington Post in an editorial saying the Illinois senator "has the potential to become a great president."

The newspaper said its choice was made easy in part by the "disappointing campaign" of Republican candidate John McCain and his decision to pick Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, as his vice presidential running mate for the Nov. 4 election.

"It is made easy in larger part, though, because of our admiration for Mr. Obama and the impressive qualities he has shown during this long race," the Post said in the editorial for its Friday editions published on its website on Thursday night.

The paper, which endorsed Democrats in the two previous presidential elections, praised Obama as a "man of supple intelligence, with a nuanced grasp of complex issues and evident skill at conciliation and consensus-building."

It said Obama also has a sophisticated understanding of the world and America's place in it and that he was committed to maintaining U.S. leadership.

In endorsing Obama, the Post said a McCain presidency would not equal four more years of Bush administration policies. But the paper said McCain would draw on many of the same policymakers who have brought the country to its current state.

"We believe they have richly earned, and might even benefit from, some years in the political wilderness," the editorial said. (Writing by JoAnne Allen; Editing by John O'Callaghan)

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