Decision2004: 7 Florida papers pick Kerry for White House
By AARON SHAROCKMAN
Seven Florida newspapers endorsed Democrat John Kerry for president Sunday while the Tampa Tribune , which traditionally backs a Republican, chose not to recommend a candidate for the first time in 40 years.
The Tribune, which endorsed George W. Bush in 2000, wrote that its editorial board was deeply divided over the president’s handling of the war in Iraq and increased federal spending.
In a page-long explanation, the board criticized Bush’s deficit spending, failed campaign promises and assault on open government. …
“President Bush told us that he was ‘a uniter, not a divider,’ but shortly after taking office, his administration took a sharp right turn that has divided this country,” the editorial said. The newspaper said it was “deeply disappointed” with Bush on federal spending, the budget deficit and the recession. …
The Tribune has endorsed every Republican candidate for president since Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952, except for 1964 when it chose not to support either incumbent Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson or Republican Barry Goldwater.
“We find it unimaginable to not be lending our voice to the chorus of conservative-leaning newspapers endorsing the president’s re-election,” the board wrote. “We fully expected to stand with Bush.”
Meanwhile, seven other Florida newspapers, including the St. Petersburg Times , backed Kerry on Sunday.
Capitol Hill Blue: Two Republican-Oriented Newspapers Refuse to Back Bush
The Winston-Salem Journal declined to endorse either candidate, saying “this is a presidency in deep trouble, made worse by the refusal to acknowledge the trouble.”
WFTV.com – Politics – Round Of Florida Endorsements Overwhelmingly For Kerry
In contrast, Democratic candidate John Kerry received overwhelming support in electoral vote-rich Florida, picking up the support of seven newspapers as polls point to a dead heat in the state that decided the 2000 election. …
A day before the start of early voting, the Massachusetts senator was backed by the Bradenton Herald, The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Florida Today, The Miami Herald, The Palm Beach Post, the St. Petersburg Times and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Reflecting the mood of the electorate, some of the editorials were more anti-Bush than pro-Kerry. The Post assailed Bush as a “reckless ideologue” who “has divided the country against itself and the world against the country.”
Added the Bradenton Herald: “Bush’s administration is notable for its lack of transparency, its intolerance of dissent, its refusal to admit mistakes.”
Newspapers endorsing Kerry lamented the squandered goodwill showered on America in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Daily Endorsement Tally: Bush Picks up a Pair
Kerry … picked up the support of six large papers over the weekend, and still leads Bush 11-8 in endorsements, according to E&P’s tally. And the papers that have chosen Kerry top the Bush backers in circulation by about a 4-1 margin: 2,534,377 to 637,187 total daily circ.
Those totals are as of 10/11; I’m waiting for this week’s totals, which will include all those Florida papers. mjh