Paper: Both Bush, Kerryunworthy of endorsement

“None of the above.”

That’s the choice the Detroit News is making this year when it comes to the race for the White House.

In a stinging rebuke on both President Bush and Democrat John Kerry, the editors of the paper say they, like many Americans, are agonizing over the presidential election.

Four years ago, the choice was clear. We endorsed George W. Bush based on his promises of fiscal conservatism, limited government and prudence in foreign affairs.

Today, we sadly acknowledge that the president has failed to deliver on those promises.

At the same time, we are fearful of the approaches to government advocated by the Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry, because they are at odds with the conservative vision of government that has long shaped this newspaper’s editorial positions.

So we are left with a decision we detest but are nonetheless compelled to make: The Detroit News will not lend its endorsement to a candidate who has made too many mistakes, nor to one who offers a governing philosophy that we reject.

In today’s editorial, the paper admits the “decision to remain silent will disappoint readers who expect The Detroit News to stand with the Republican presidential candidate come hell or high water.”

After all, the News has never endorsed a Democrat for commander in chief, and failed to endorse on only two previous elections – both during the Franklin Roosevelt years.

Editors restated their policy which first appeared in 1958:

“The News is bound to no political party. In matters economic, it is and will continue to be conservative. On issues of civil rights and individual liberties, it is consistently liberal.”

They’re now posting an addendum to that belief.

“We will never feel obliged to defend a president whose blunders and misjudgments have hurt the nation. Nor will we settle for an equally bad choice. John Kerry’s record in the Senate and the promises he’s made on the campaign trail suggest an administration that will be indecisive in the face of terror, raise taxes and spending, over-regulate business and stifle Michigan’s economy.”

In lieu of making an endorsement of either candidate, editors decided to provide an assessment of both Bush and Kerry.