Presidential endorsements

Two newspapers' endorsements of President Bush in next week's election have caused a furor in their respective cities. It is baffling to me how anyone can be surprised that the Chicago Tribune endorsed Bush (free registration required), given that the Chicago Trib has endorsed the Republican candidate in every presidential election since at least 1872 (see explanation of the endorsement here). But, nevertheless, the Chicago Trib has received a flood of angry letters to the editor (I heard one Chicago Trib editor on NPR yesterday say there have been 11,000 letters to the editor since Oct. 1, and that's almost twice the normal number).

I'm not surprised, however, that The Salt Lake Tribune's endorsement of Bush has caused a minor furor in Salt Lake City, given the Salt Lake Trib's typically anti-Bush stance.