"...deficit, discord and disappointment."

That's how the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette describes the Bush record, and it's about as good a summary as I can think of.

Xan at Corrente has a good rundown of recent endorsement action, and put's the Post-Gazette's endorsement of John Kerry among his favorites. I'm partial to the Des Moines Register, which writes...

"Yes, Kerry is liberal. But what's to fear from a liberal president? That he would run big deficits? That he would increase federal spending? That he would expand the power of the federal government over individuals' lives? Nothing Kerry could do could top what President Bush has already done in those realms."

...effectively disabling the Bush attemp to use the 'L' word as a point of attack (and yes, Kerry's a liberal, and so am I, and so what? After November 2 we're going to restore that word to it's proper respected place in the political lexicon).

There are some other notable additions to the Kerry endorsement list, including the Orlando Sentinel, Kansas City Star, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, Iowa City Press-Citizen, Racine Journal Times, Newsday and the Wausau Daily Herald. Lots of swing state action there, and some notable crossovers from 2000 (Hello Orlando!)

Another stunner - the resolutely Republican editorial page of the Detroit News can't quite bring itself to endorsing a D, but they pointedly refuse to endorse a second term for a failed Republican presidency.

Sure, newpaper endorsements only matter in the margins, but we're going to win this one in the margins, and every day brings news that victory is closer.