Newspaper from
Bush's hometown
endorses Kerry

CRAWFORD, Texas - A weekly newspaper that bills itself as President Bush’s hometown paper endorsed John Kerry for president, saying the Massachusetts senator will restore American dignity.

The Lone Star Iconoclast, which has a circulation of 425, said in an editorial dated Sept. 29 that Texans should rate the candidates not by hometown or political party, but by where they intend to take the country.

“Four items trouble us the most about the Bush administration: his initiatives to disable the Social Security system, the deteriorating state of the American economy, a dangerous shift away from the basic freedoms established by our founding fathers, and his continuous mistakes regarding Iraq,” the editorial said.

The Iconoclast, established in 2000, said it endorsed Bush that year. It also said it editorialized in support of the invasion of Iraq, and publisher W. Leon Smith promoted Bush and the invasion in a British Broadcasting Corp. interview, believing Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction.

“Instead we were duped into following yet another privileged agenda,” the editorial said.

The newspaper praised Kerry for “30 years of experience looking out for the American people” and lauded his background as “a highly decorated Vietnam veteran.”