Manchester newspaper gives Bradley a near-endorsement
January 29, 2000
Web posted at: 8:54 p.m. EST (0154 GMT)
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (CNN) -- CNN has learned that the Manchester Union Leader, New Hampshire's largest daily newspaper, will all but endorse Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Bradley in its Sunday edition.
With the headline, "Almost an endorsement... committed Democrats should vote for Bradley," the Union Leader says, "We now believe Al Gore's dishonesty in this campaign makes him an unacceptable candidate for Democratic-leaning voters."
The famously conservative newspaper has endorsed millionaire publisher Steve Forbes for the Republican nomination. The paper has never been known for expressing much of any support for Democratic presidential candidates.
Gore has been sharply criticized by Bradley, Bradley's backers and media newspaper editorial writers for his characterization of Bradley's plan for universal health insurance.
He has been accused of flip-flopping his position on abortion. While Gore professes deeply held pro-choice beliefs, his detractors have assailed his congressional voting record on the deeply divisive issue. Bradley, in a CNN-sponsored debate last Wednesday, said Bradley voted "pro-right-to-life" 84 percent of the time during his career in the House and the Senate.
A longtime force in New Hampshire politics, the newspaper was run for years by the Loeb family. Nackey Loeb, who shepherded the paper for many years after the death of her longtime publisher husband William Loeb, died earlier this month.
The newspaper described Republican front-runner George W. Bush as an "empty suit" when it endorsed Forbes in December. It said Forbes, who is in the midst of his second campaign for the presidency, "believes in what he says, and he says it."
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