Sun-Times Endorses Kerry

By Margaret Lyons in News on Oct 25, 2004 3:04PM

The Sun-Times endorsed John Kerry yesterday, which is noteworthy considering that it endorsed George W. Bush last time around. The endorsement sounds like a lot of Kerry endorsements—loosely in favor of Kerry, strongly opposed to Bush.

The president's handling of the past year in Iraq -- his dismissal of those who warned him about the difficulty of reorganizing the country, his neglect of deep problems that are costing American lives there -- made us doubt his ability to bring our involvement there to a successful conclusion. And we became concerned by the secrecy of his subordinates such as Dick Cheney and John Ashcroft, coupled with an unnecessary disregard for some of our most cherished civil liberties.

The editorial goes on to say that Kerry's style is more likely to unite Americans, whereas Bush's far-right policies have alienated and polarized. "Yes, [Kerry] sometimes changes his mind, but what the Republicans tar as waffling strikes us as flexibility. We want leaders to stay the course only when the course is a good one."

Steve Chapman at the Tribune is voting for Kerry, too. Chapman is a self-described "small-government, pro-life libertarian," and says that he doesn't want to vote for Kerry, but he will anyway.

But I can't vote Republican this year--and the stakes demand using any available instrument to remove Bush. Kerry is not the ideal instrument, just as a rubber raft is not the optimal vessel on the open sea. But when the ship is sinking, you can't be choosy.

Chapman has been extremely critical of Bush, especially in recent months, so while this endorsement isn't exactly out of the blue, it's still kind of surprising.