By: Greg Mitchell It was a big day for President Bush in E&P's exclusive tally of daily newspaper endorsements, closing his gap with Senator John Kerry by every measure.
Bush gained eight papers today, with Kerry picking up just two. The president also nabbed two majors, the New York Post and The Washington Times.
He still trails the challenger in the number of papers backing him, by 59-53, and in the circulation of those papers, 9.5 million to 6.4 million. (See chart below.)
Many newspapers are expected to run their endorsement editorials on Sunday or shortly after. Among them are two closely watched papers in Ohio, The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and The Columbus Dispatch. Both have long backed Republicans, reportedly have a lot of editorial-board support for Kerry, but also have conservative publishers who have the final say and may have to exercise it.
Among other papers to watch: The Washington Post, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Newsday in Melville, N.Y.
In addition to the two metros, Bush gained three papers in Colorado: the Daily Times-Call in Longmont, the Loveland Daily Reporter-Herald, and the Daily Record of Canon City. He also also picked up the Daily Courier of Grants Pass, Ore., Foster's Daily Democrat in Dover, N.H., and the Oshkosh (Wis.) Northwestern.
Kerry won The Anniston (Ala.) Star and The Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Backing Bush, The New York Post declared: "America will be safer with George Bush in the White House. ... Not totally safe. ... But safer, and that's quite good enough for us." It also noted that Bush had "changed the course of world history forever. ... For starters, the Bush doctrine of pre-emption and aggressive promotion of freedom abroad has put dictator-thugs and terrorists everywhere on notice."
The Washington Times said that "whatever lessons history has in store for the next president, we believe that Mr. Bush's character and personality are better suited to those challenges." But it admitted it was troubled by the "sheer vastness and duration" of Bush?s efforts to bring democracy to the Middle East, noting that many conservatives and other Americans "wonder whether the project is doable."
The Anniston Star said Kerry "offers the most able mind, the better set of diplomatic skills, the wiser plans for the economy and a calm but tough demeanor." Bush, it added, had "foolishly rushed to war."
Here is our updated chart, with circulation numbers and indication of who the paper backed in 2000, Bush or Gore (if we know it).
JOHN KERRY
60 newspapers total
9,592,196 daily circulation ALABAMA
The Anniston Star (G): 26,527
ARIZONA
Arizona Daily Star (Tucson) (G): 109,592
CALIFORNIA
San Francisco Chronicle (G): 501,135
The Sacramento Bee (G): 303,841
San Jose Mercury News (G): 279,539
The Fresno Bee (G): 166,531
The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa) (G): 89,384
The Modesto Bee (G): 87,366
Merced Sun-Star: 17,247
COLORADO
Daily Camera (Boulder) (B): 33,419
CONNECTICUT
The Day (New London) (B): 39,553
FLORIDA
St. Petersburg Times (G): 358,502
The Miami Herald (G): 325,032
South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale) (G): 268,927
The Palm Beach Post (G): 181,727
Daytona Beach News-Journal (G): 112,945
Florida Today (Melbourne) (G): 90,877
Bradenton Herald (B): 52,163
GEORGIA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 418,323
HAWAII
The Honolulu Advertiser (G): 145,943
ILLINOIS
Daily Herald (Arlington Heights) (B): 150,794
INDIANA
The Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne) (G): 61,205
IOWA
The Hawk Eye (Burlington) (G): 19,000
KENTUCKY
Lexington Herald-Leader (G): 122,748
MAINE
Portland Press Herald (G): 73,211
MASSACHUSETTS
The Boston Globe (G): 452,109
The Standard-Times (New Bedford): 35,299
MICHIGAN
Detroit Free Press (G): 354,581
The Muskegon Chronicle (B): 46,505
Battle Creek Enquirer: 24,831
The Argus-Press (Owosso): 11,438
MINNESOTA
Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (G): 377,058
Duluth News Tribune: 45,688
The Free Press (Mankato): 21,591
MISSOURI
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (G): 281,198
The Kansas City Star (G): 269,188
Columbia Daily Tribune (B): 18,874
NEVADA
Nevada Appeal (Carson City): 15,296
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Concord Monitor (G): 19,984
NEW MEXICO
The Albuquerque Tribune (B): 13,536
NEW YORK
The New York Times (G): 1,133,763
NORTH CAROLINA
The Charlotte Observer (G): 231,369
The Daily Reflector (Greenville): 25,777
NORTH DAKOTA
Grand Forks Herald (G): 32,385
OHIO
Dayton Daily News (G): 183,175
Akron Beacon Journal (G): 139,220
OREGON
The Oregonian (Portland) (B): 342,040
Mail Tribune (Medford): 35,524
The Register-Guard (Eugene) (G): 72,411
Statesman Journal (Salem): 56,298
East Oregonian (Pendleton): 10,236
The Daily Astorian (Astoria): 8,429
PENNSYLVANIA
The Philadelphia Inquirer (G): 387,692
The Philadelphia Daily News (G): 139,983
TENNESSEE
The Jackson Sun (G): 35,561
VIRGINIA
The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk) (G): 201,473
The Roanoke Times: 100,447
WASHINGTON
The Seattle Times (B): 237,303
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (G): 150,901
WEST VIRGINIA
Charleston Gazette (G): 49,529
GEORGE W. BUSH
53 newspapers total
6,425,856 daily circulation ALABAMA
Mobile Register (B): 100,244
ARIZONA
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix) (B): 466,926
ARKANSAS
Southwest Times Record (Fort Smith) (B): 37,636
CALIFORNIA
The San Diego Union-Tribune (B): 361,317
The Press-Enterprise (Riverside): 191,802
The Record (Stockton) (B): 62,139
The Reporter (Vacaville) (B): 18,227
COLORADO
Rocky Mountain News (Denver) (B): 286,004
The Pueblo Chieftain: 52,208
Daily Times-Call (Longmont): 21,465
Loveland Daily Reporter-Herald: 17,548
Daily Record (Canon City): 8,164
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The Washington Times (B): 100,228
GEORGIA
Savannah Morning News (B): 57,288
ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune (B): 578,843
The Pantagraph (Bloomington) (B): 47,931
The News-Gazette (Champaign-Urbana): 39,190
INDIANA
The Indianapolis Star (B): 253,778
IOWA
Globe-Gazette (Mason City): 18,947
MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Herald (B): 248,988
The Sun (Lowell) (B): 50,369
MICHIGAN
The Grand Rapids Press (B): 139,216
The Oakland Press (Pontiac): 65,484
NEBRASKA
Omaha World-Herald (B): 197,627
NEVADA
Las Vegas Review-Journal (B): 170,061
NEW HAMPSHIRE
The Union Leader (Manchester) (B): 59,605
Foster's Daily Democrat (Dover): 22,995
NEW MEXICO
Carlsbad Current-Argus (B): 8,030
Las Cruces Sun-News (B): 22,168
NEW YORK
New York Post (B): 678,012
The New York Sun: 18,000
OHIO
The Repository (Canton) (B): 66,014
The Times Reporter (New Philadelphia): 23,956
The Courier (Findlay) (B): 22,319
The Advocate (Newark): 22,217
OKLAHOMA
Tulsa World (B): 139,383
OREGON
The News-Review (Roseburg): 19,272
Daily Courier (Grants Pass): 16,392
PENNSYLVANIA
York Daily Record (G): 46,554
TENNESSEE
The Leaf-Chronicle (Clarksville): 22,057
TEXAS
The Dallas Morning News (B): 546,177
San Antonio Express-News (B): 252,889
Fort Worth Star-Telegram (B): 247,167
El Paso Times: 74,278
Amarillo Globe-News (B): 51,105
VIRGINIA
Richmond Times-Dispatch (B): 191,732
The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg) (B): 47,866
WASHINGTON
The Spokesman-Review (Spokane) (B): 100,760
The Columbian (Vancouver) (B): 51,498
WEST VIRGINIA
Charleston Daily Mail (B): 34,539
The Intelligencer (Wheeling): 20,689
WISCONSIN
Oshkosh Northwestern (B): 21,748
The Chippewa Herald (Chippewa Falls) (B): 6,804
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