WATERVILLE - Waterville native and former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell on Thursday endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president, saying he believes he will promote economic growth and educational opportunities and restore the country's standing in the world.

Mitchell, speaking to the Morning Sentinel and Kennebec Journal editorial board, said Obama's policies are opposite of those that have landed the country in such a serious financial crisis and caused it to have such low esteem around the world.

"Why in the world does anyone want to essentially pursue the same policies in the future?" he said.

Mitchell said he counts McCain as a friend but thinks he is not the right person for the job.

"I know Sen. McCain very well," he said. "I served 10 years with him in the Senate and we became quite good friends. I think he's a good guy; I just think that Barack Obama is the right guy to be president."

Mitchell says he is a Democrat in part because he believes the policies of the party are more likely to create jobs and economic growth. When Bill Clinton was president, for instance, 23 million new jobs were created. In the eight years George Bush has been in office, fewer than five million have been created, he said.

In Maine, 98,000 jobs were created under Clinton; only 5,000 were created under Bush, Mitchell said, adding that when he was in the U.S. Senate, he spent 15 years traveling to every community in Maine several times and the single most important issue to people in those communities was jobs.

"This is the historic reality," he said. "This is facts. It's not speculation."

Of McCain's vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, Mitchell said he has never met her.

"I don't know her but I do know Sen. (Joe) Biden and I saw on the television news the day after the debate that 90 percent of the public believes Sen. Biden is well-qualified to serve as president if it becomes necessary and fewer than 50 percent feel that about Gov. Palin."

He said Obama will win the election Nov. 4.

"I believe he's going to win, but I can't make specific projections," he said.

Of the current financial crisis, Michell said it is serious but not one that is irreversible.

"This is not a situation in which the U.S. can't turn things around," he said.