Editorials supporting Bush or Kerry

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Newspaper editorials supporting George W. Bush or John Kerry in the U.S. presidential election, 2004

Endorsements for John F. Kerry

John F. Kerry

New York Times: He has qualities that could be the basis for a great chief executive, not just a modest improvement on the incumbent.

Boston Globe: Far from being wavering or indecisive, Kerry's worldview has been steadfastly informed by these values for as long as we on this page have known him. In complex and dangerous times, the United States needs a leader who can bring together people and ideas.

Miami Herald: On the basis of experience, a strong campaign and command of the issues that make this such a crucial election, The Herald recommends John F. Kerry.

Orlando Sentinel: This president has utterly failed to fulfill our expectations. We turn now to his Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry, with the belief that he is more likely to meet the hopes we once held for Mr. Bush.

Palm Beach Post: Issue by issue, Sen. Kerry has laid out a better, fairer, more progressive agenda. He would shore up Social Security, not endanger Americans' retirement by disguising a risky privatization scheme as part of an "ownership society." He would allow embryonic stem-cell research, not thwart hope by yielding to a narrow ideology. He would offer Americans the promise of health care that is available to members of Congress, not the illusions of tax credits to buy insurance. He would offer laid-off and underemployed Americans training and the assurance that their taxes won't subsidize companies that move jobs abroad. He would appoint Supreme Court justices who leave no political fingerprints on their rulings.

St. Petersburg Times: President Bush hasn't lived up to his promise to be a uniter at home and in world affairs, and he shows no evidence of having recognized, much less learned from, the mistakes that have left this country less united and less secure. John Kerry isn't a perfect candidate. No one is. But he is an intelligent, principled leader who has demonstrated his commitment to his country on the battlefield and in public service. The Times recommends Kerry as the candidate best equipped to fulfill the promises George W. Bush made four years ago and failed to keep.

Dayton Daily News: John Kerry is a credible, prepared, likely choice for a nation that should expect more sophistication, more skill, less failure and more focus on the problems of the American mainstream than George W. Bush has offered.

Akron Beacon Journal: The president paints Kerry as an old-fashioned liberal, taxing and spending, recklessly piling up debt. Yet the senator is the one with the better record of fiscal discipline.

Philadelphia Inquirer: One thing Americans should have learned by now, though, is that the incumbent lacks the realism, judgment and ability to adjust to events that the United States needs in its commander in chief. In this perilous moment, the safer choice, the wiser choice, is John F. Kerry.

Philadelphia Daily News: John Kerry's long life in the national spotlight has been defined by steadfast support for the principled and intelligent use of American power in the world. His proposals - not to mention the administration that he will create - promise new hope for America.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: There is no doubt that Americans have gone from a generally happy time in the 1990s to four years of deficit, discord and disappointment. We would pose the same question that President Reagan asked famously in the heat of his own campaign: Are you better off now than you were four years ago? Relatively few, we think, would answer that with "yes." If your answer is "no" or "not sure," then we have a president for you. The Post-Gazette enthusiastically endorses John Kerry. It's definitely time for a fresh start.

Minneapolis Star Tribune At the very least, the presidency requires stewardship: of America's people and the economy that sustains them, of the Constitution that guides and protects them, and of the United States' singular leadership in the world. President Bush has profoundly failed these requirements.

St. Louis Post Dispatch: America needs a leader who sees the world as it is, who knows how to rebuild international alliances, who focuses on threats to homeland security, who runs the government for the benefit of all Americans. By virtue of his knowledge of world affairs, his life story of national service and his moderate values, John Kerry is that leader.

Kansas City Star: In talking about the pre-9-11 mentality, some humility on the part of Cheney and Bush would be in order. They are Exhibit A for this defect, as the final report from the bipartisan Sept. 11 commission makes clear. The commission found that top administration officials failed to heed urgent warnings from various sources about the possibility of large-scale terrorist attacks. The commission provided the public with ample evidence that the administration should have done far more to protect the country in the months before the attacks -- and should be doing more now.

The Oregonian: Bush's term in office has been marked by two major failures. One is his conduct of the war in Iraq. The other is his stewardship of the nation's fiscal health. Bush ran for president as a "compassionate conservative." But true conservatives don't choose to go to war without proper planning or pursue fiscal policies leading to the deepest federal deficits in our nation's history.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: During his time in public life, Kerry has proved himself to be an intelligent, diligent student of world and national affairs with the courage to take the lead at times when others would shirk the burden. Furthermore, Kerry has surrounded himself with competent people who are more interested in policies that actually work than in policies that meet some test of ideological purity. He understands that in a rapidly changing world, flexibility is a far more useful trait than rigidity.

Detroit Free Press: The Massachusetts senator is certainly more thoughtful than Bush, more open to new ideas and more sensitive to the issues confronting the middle and working classes. He is as resolute as the incumbent about fighting terrorism but more willing to change strategies that are not effective.

Seattle Times: Four years ago, this page endorsed George W. Bush for president. We cannot do so again -- because of an ill-conceived war and its aftermath, undisciplined spending, a shrinkage of constitutional rights and an intrusive social agenda.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: John Kerry should be the next president of the United States. This endorsement is based not only on President Bush's failings -- which are manifest -- but also on the conclusion that Kerry can succeed where Bush has failed.

Arizona Daily Star: 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.

Portland Press Herald (Portland, ME): Of particular merit in Kerry's agenda is his desire to shift the focus of American energy policy from increasing the supply of oil and gas to the development of alternative sources of energy and conservation. That's not only smart domestic policy, but it will enhance U.S. security abroad by reducing the nation's dependence on foreign oil.

San Francisco Chronicle: Sen. John Kerry is the clear choice for voters who care about protecting the environment, advancing gay rights, preserving abortion rights, maintaining a transparent government when developing an energy policy or a vast database on its citizenry -- and appointing federal judges within the mainstream of American values on those issues.

Daily Press: (Newport News, VA) The nation faces challenges, foreign and domestic, of historic proportion, and George Bush's record over the past four years builds a solid case for change. His Democratic opponent, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, is hardly an inspiring alternative. But he has shown in this campaign that he is a thoughtful man who recognizes and will try to correct the mistakes of the Bush administration. Inspiring or not, that is a better alternative than four more years of flawed, divisive choices.

Lone Star Iconoclast (Crawford, TX): The publishers of The Iconoclast endorsed Bush four years ago, based on the things he promised, not on this smoke-screened agenda. Today, we are endorsing his opponent, John Kerry, based not only on the things that Bush has delivered, but also on the vision of a return to normality that Kerry says our country needs.

Nevada Appeal: If the war in Iraq is the defining issue of the 2004 presidential election, then President George W. Bush gains no advantage over his Democratic opponent, Sen. John Kerry. And on the domestic front, Kerry offers more hope and vision for the average American.

Endorsements for George W. Bush

George W. Bush

Dallas Morning News: The next president must have the firm conviction to persevere against Islamic terrorism and the empathy to give his fellow citizens a helping hand, even as he steadily guides the American economy through the turbulent waters of globalization.

Chicago Tribune: For three years, Bush has kept Americans, and their government, focused -- effectively -- on this nation's security. The experience, dating from Sept. 11, 2001, has readied him for the next four years, a period that could prove as pivotal in this nation's history as were the four years of World War II.

San Diego Union-Tribune: John Kerry's record of waffling on issues large and small does not instill confidence that he would provide the steady leadership that these uncertain times demand. With George Bush, however, there never is any doubt about where he stands. That is why he merits another four years in the White House.

San Antonio Express-News: A second Bush administration would be more aggressive in seeking to engage terrorists abroad as a strategy to protect this nation. While the doctrine of pre-emption warrants further debate, Kerry has not demonstrated a clear or different vision. We hope the president, in a second administration, will move to re-establish relations with long-time allies who differed with the United States on Iraq.

Arizona Republic: George W. Bush, whose decision following Sept. 11, 2001, to take the war on terrorism beyond America's borders became the defining choice of his presidency, is the necessary choice to move Iraq toward stability and modernity. Baghdad may not have been the fulcrum of terrorism before the U.S. overthrow of Saddam Hussein. But it is now.

Canton Repository: Sen. John Kerry does not present a compelling alternative to the imperfect presidency of George W. Bush.

Richmond Times-Dispatch: On September 11, 2001, Americans awoke to a lovely dawn. Reality soon roused them from a long slumber. The airliners slamming into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and the Pennsylvania countryside supposedly shattered American innocence. Ignorance more accurately describes the pre-attack attitude.

Salt Lake Tribune: High on President Bush's to-do list should be removal of ideological extremists, particularly Attorney General John Ashcroft, from his Cabinet, in favor of Republican moderates like Mike Leavitt. Donald Rumsfeld and deputy Paul Wolfowitz should get the boot from the Pentagon because of their failed policies in Iraq.

Las Cruces Sun-News: Presidential election 2004 is skewed by one subject -- Iraq. It's an issue everyone can easily, and without thought, be against. We're all against war; always have been. President George W. Bush is against war; so is Sen. John Kerry, the Democrat who hopes to succeed the Republican president. This is a very serious time in America. Candidates are grim.

Lowell Sun (Lowell, MA)

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