In this month’s cover story, we accompany tough-talking builder Bob Toll to the Democratic National Convention. Yet while Toll is an outspoken Barack Obama man whose wife was part of the Pennsylvania delegation, his brother Bruce, co-founder of the Toll Brothers homebuilding empire, is just as ardent a Republican. And there you have a microcosm of the schism in the business community this election season.

Rarely have we seen business so divided about a presidential race as it is now, mirroring the divisiveness we lament throughout the country. We’ve watched the debate play out these past few months in our pages, as business leaders argue over which candidate can best lead us out of our current economic and financial malaise.

In this issue alone, Charles Schwab speaks of his support for John McCain, while Anne Mulcahy, C.E.O. of Xerox, discusses her strong support for Hillary Clinton and her subsequent decision to back Obama. California’s Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has sparred with McCain over offshore oil drilling, scolds both parties for not being bold enough on energy policy. Throughout this campaign season, we’ve heard from other executives, from Merrill Lynch C.E.O. John Thain and former Hewlett-Packard C.E.O. Carly Fiorina, both leading McCain supporters, to Starbucks C.E.O. ­Howard Schultz, a Democratic stalwart.

So which candidate is truly the best for business? Consider their positions in some key areas. On taxes, for starters, McCain is pushing for a slew of tax cuts, from corporate breaks to a permanent extension of President Bush’s tax cuts. Obama thinks our massive budget deficit leaves us with no choice but to raise the tax rate on the highest earners, although he would pare taxes for those with lower incomes. While we’re all for lower taxes, we’ve got to agree with Obama on this one: The $9.6 trillion debt that the next administration will inherit simply won’t be solved with tax cuts, especially those favoring the wealthy.

When it comes to health care, the two men’s proposals are very different—but neither is likely to be adopted wholesale by Congress. Obama wants to offer an affordable health-care plan to uninsured Americans and pay for it with higher taxes. McCain wants to offer tax credits to help individuals buy their own health plans. As media columnist Howell Raines argues, the details of both candidates’ proposals have been underreported and aren’t sufficiently understood. But in our analysis, McCain’s approach seems a perilous step that could undermine company health-insurance plans for millions of working Americans.

Taking a look at trade, both candidates concur on a number of bilateral trade agreements, and neither backs a major disruption of trade with China. So far, so good. But McCain opposes Obama’s hope of amending the North American Free Trade Agreement to promote much-needed tougher labor and environmental standards.

Both candidates say they offer change from the Bush years, which is welcome considering that a recession is looming and the past eight years have been marked by anemic growth. The current administration was slow to respond to the housing crisis and has added some $4 trillion to the national debt. No board would tolerate this kind of performance from a C.E.O., and the country is asking for more from the next president.

But all told, one candidate offers a more realistic plan for enhancing both the domestic economy and the competitiveness of this country. And that is why we believe Barack Obama should be our next president.