LOS ANGELES, USA (AFP) — A major US newspaper, The Los Angeles Times, yesterday endorsed President Barack Obama for a second term in the White House, saying he has brought "steady leadership" to the office.

"The nation has been well served by President Obama's steady leadership. He deserves a second term," stated an LA Times editorial.

It added that while his opponents assailed him as a socialist, "he showed himself to be an adult, less an ideologue than a pragmatist, more cautious than cocky."

The paper also warned that Republican challenger Mitt Romney would exacerbate the economic situation in the country "by spending extravagantly on defence even as the last of the Bush-era wars ends."

It was referring to the wars that president George W Bush launched in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"The alternative offered by Romney would neglect the country's infrastructure and human resources for the sake of yet another tax cut and a larger defense budget than even the Pentagon is seeking," the LA Times went on the argue.