Forty-one of the country’s top 100 papers have endorsed President Obama for a second term, the American Presidency Project notes. Thirty-four newspapers have endorsed Mitt Romney. Count the New York Daily News among the latter.
“Revival of the U.S. as a land of opportunity and upward mobility is the central challenge facing the next President. The question for Americans: Who is more likely to accomplish the mission — Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?,” The New York Daily News editorial board writes in its endorsement of Mitt Romney for president.
Mort Zuckerman, the paper’s chairman and publisher, joined Morning Joe Monday to further discuss the paper throwing its support behind Romney.
“We thought we would make a statement about what we thought was important in this election,” Zuckerman said.
In 2008, the Daily News, which has a weekday circulation of about half a million, endorsed President Obama, saying “Obama has been called audacious and he certainly is. But his confidence is supported by both a high intelligence and a clear-eyed pragmatism.”
Zuckerman defended the paper’s decision in 2008 to endorse the then-Illinois senator.
“Frankly, I had some exposure to him and I thought he was really an extraordinary figure in American history and political life and deserved support,” he said.
What changed for the paper over the past four years?
“I had enough of an exposure to him and to his administration and to their policies to feel that they weren’t working and they weren’t listening,” Zuckerman added. “All their economic programs didn’t work. We have the worst economy today than we’ve had since the Great Depression.”
Zuckerman praised Romney’s “good record” when it comes to the economy and said he believes the Republican candidate “understands” the economy.
Several tweets expressed surprise over the paper’s decision.
Drew Katchen