The following was composed prior to Sunday’s debate, the release of leaked speeches to Wall Street bankers by Hillary Clinton and the release of a leaked recording in which Donald Trump made vulgar, derogatory remarks about women. While none factored into The Times Record’s endorsement, the events serve as exmplars of points made below regarding both candidates.

Of the four candidates for president on Maine’s ballot, only two are even qualified to hold the nation’s highest office: Democrat Hillary Clinton and Libertarian Gary Johnson.

At first blush, Johnson, the former Republican governor of New Mexico, seems like a good choice for conservatives. Johnson touts a record of cutting taxes in New Mexico 14 times, balancing that state’s budget and leaving office with a $1 billion surplus.

We can appreciate the Libertarian Party’s platform on personal liberty, but other planks — notably a free-market knows-best approach to health care and education — give us pause.

Johnson’s gaffe in September — “What is Aleppo?” — is also concerning. More concerning is the willful ignorance on display when he says he can’t think of a single world leader he admires.

America is engaged with the world at large. A return to isolationism is as unlikely as it would be disastrous.

Clinton, meanwhile, has done much in her 25 years in the public eye to make conservatives, moderates and liberals question her honesty. Her lack of candor, especially with the media, creates an air of distrust.

She could have been the most scrutinized, distrusted and damaged major party nominee this side of Nixon, easily making the race the Republicans’ to lose. Yet, GOP voters appeared to go out of their way to nominate a candidate that is far, far worse.

Donald J. Trump is a hateful buffoon who has spent a lifetime elevating himself above others — often at their expense. His weapons of choice are braggadocio and rumor, coupled with a total and overt lack of humility and common decency.

A letter signed by more than 30 former Republican lawmaker’s stated, in part, that Trump is “a man who insults women, mocks the handicapped, urges that dissent be met with violence, seeks to impose religious tests for entry into the United States, and applies a de facto ethnicity test to judges. … He offends our allies and praises dictators. His public statements are peppered with lies. He belittles our heroes and insults the parents of men who have died serving our country. Every day brings a fresh revelation that highlights the unacceptable danger in electing him to lead our nation.”

Hillary Clinton is the nation’s last, best hope for defeating Trump. Liberals could cast a protest vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein, a public health expert and activist, whose sole experience in elected office consists of serving as a representative to Town Meeting in Lexington, Massachusetts. However, the real danger of a Trump presidency is too great for one to throw away one’s vote on a candidate whose public career is more concerned with the cause de jours than with public service and who — like Johnson — has no shot at winning.

Clinton is the most qualified candidate for president in recent memory. She has a thick enough skin to overcome challenges foreign and domestic. She’s proven her staying power in the face of relentless personal attacks and witch-hunts.

During Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State, she was an advocate of human rights for all, including women and the LGBT community. At home, she was a trailblazer in the fight for universal health care.

She supports a raise in the minimum wage and automatic voter registration for all citizens, and opposes the type of trickle-down economics that benefits the super rich and hurts the middle class.

She is qualified, capable and the only serious choice on Nov. 8. We endorse Hillary Clinton.