Major Newspapers Reveal Their Favorite Candidates

Presidential hopefuls Al Gore and George W. Bush received endorsements from several major U.S. newspapers Sunday, with the Washington Post and San Francisco Chronicle backing the vice president and the Detroit News and Ohio’s Columbus Dispatch picking the Texas governor.

In endorsing Gore for president, the Post described the Democratic candidate as “a man of good character” who would bring sound judgment and the right priorities to the White House.

The San Francisco Chronicle, in an editorial on its Web site, said Gore has “seasoned judgment, leadership and familiarity with the world” as well as “on-the-job experience.”

The Columbus Dispatch, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Detroit News--newspapers in critically important electoral states--endorsed Bush as the candidate best able to end the political bickering in Washington.

The Dispatch, in an editorial published on its Web site, said the Republican governor was better equipped to “smooth over the bitter partisanship and frequent gridlock that have characterized the eight years of the Clinton administration and stymied efforts to come to grips with looming fiscal crises in Social Security and Medicare.”

Bush also picked up endorsements from the Dallas Morning News, the Seattle Times and the Portland Oregonian.

Gore also received the endorsement of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

The endorsements come amid polls showing Gore is lagging behind Bush in an exceptionally tight race. The Reuters/MSNBC daily tracking poll released Sunday showed Bush had opened a 4-point lead over Gore, leading him 45% to 41%.

The survey, conducted Thursday through Saturday by pollster John Zogby, showed the largest Bush lead since the daily survey began Sept. 29.