N PAPER
WASHINGTON - Presidential hopefuls Al Gore and George W. Bush received endorsements from several major US newspapers yesterday, with The Washington Post and San Francisco Chronicle backing the vice president and The Detroit News and 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. ''By virtue of experience, capacity and positions on the issues, he is the better qualified candidate,'' the newspaper said in a lengthy editorial. The Columbus Dispatch and the Cleveland Plain Dealer in Ohio, and The Detroit News in Michigan - newspapers in critically important electoral states - endorsed Bush as the candidate best able to end political bickering in Washington. The Dispatch, in an editorial published on its Web site, said the Texas governor was better equipped to ''smooth over the bitter partisanship and frequent gridlock that have characterized the eight years of the Clinton administration.'' (Reuters)
Nader not heeding activists' advice
OAKLAND, Calif. - Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader rejected calls from a dozen of his longtime fellow activists that he rethink his campaign because he could cost Democrat Al Gore the election. Twelve former ''Nader's Raiders'' urged Nader, a native of Winsted, Conn., on Friday to drop out of the White House race in states where Gore is in close fights with Republican George W. Bush. ''I think they're well-intentioned but frightened liberals who sided with the lesser of two evils,'' Nader said of the dozen, who call themselves ''Nader's Raiders for Gore.'' Some of the dozen have gone into corporate employment or work for the government, and don't understand that times have changed for consumer activists, he said. The critics also said Nader broke a promise to campaign only in states where his candidacy would not hurt Gore's chances for victory. Nader denied ever making such a promise, and made it clear that he intends to press on with his campaign nationwide, if only to build a viable third party. (AP)
Bush leads Gore in tracking poll
WASHINGTON - Republican George W. Bush has opened up a four-percentage point advantage over Democrat Al Gore, according to the Reuters/MSNBC daily tracking poll released yesterday. Sixteen days before the Nov. 7 election, the race stands at 45 percent for the Texas governor and 41 percent for the vice president in the poll of 1,206 likely voters conducted Thursday through Saturday by the polling firm of John Zogby. This is the largest Bush lead since the daily survey began on Sept. 29. The results are just outside the margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. Green Party candidate Ralph Nader polled 5 percent; Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan scored 1 percent, while 7 percent of voters remained undecided. (Reuters)
