By: E&P Staff The Democratic candidate for president appears to have an early lead in major daily newspaper endorsements. In the past two days, Senator John Kerry has picked up the backing of the Detroit Free Press and Tucson's Arizona Daily Star.
Other metro papers backing Kerry so far include The Seattle Times and The Philadelphia Daily News. The Las Vegas (Nev.) Review-Journal and the Amarillo, Texas, daily have picked Bush, as E&P noted previously. The Lowell (Ma.) Sun and Pueblo (Colo.) Chieftain both went for Bush in the past week. Few papers have endorsed either candidate so far.
The Detroit Free Press endorsed Kerry on Monday, lamenting that "the nation is more divided in more ways than it has been since the turbulent 1960s. The president has failed, or refused, to pursue consensus on America's problems and instigated solutions that have produced results ranging from mixed to disastrous.
"As president, Bush has plunged America into a costly war under false premises, alienated nations with whom America should be mapping a global strategy against terrorism, managed the most secretive administration in modern times, run up huge budget deficits, deceived Congress on the cost of a Medicare drug plan, and effectively denied women around the world access to information about reproductive health."
"America needs a new direction, and that can begin only with new leadership. Kerry is not a perfect candidate, but he is a promising alternative to things as they are."
The Arizona Daily Star declared on Sunday: "President Bush had four years to prove himself and did poorly. It is time to elect a president with a broader understanding of international affairs and a greater concern for the welfare of those living on slender incomes. Elect John Kerry."
The paper also voiced its discontent with the Iraq war and the ballooning federal deficit.
E&P will be tracking endorsements in the presidential race throughout October. If you know of any papers, large or small, that have picked a candidate, drop us a line and we will post the names here. Write letters@editorandpublisher.com.
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