If all politics is local, Bush is in trouble — redux

Since Bush prefers to spend a lot of time in Crawford, Texas (by one estimation, 20% of his presidency), you’d think by now he’d have impressed the locals. As it turns out, not so much.

In June, we learned that Bush’s local mayor wants to see John Kerry win in November.

Crawford may be the heart of Bush country, but the town’s mayor says John Kerry is the best choice for president.

“I don’t see where I’m better off than I was four years ago,” Robert Campbell said Tuesday. “I don’t see where the city is any better off.”

And yesterday, Crawford’s newspaper, the Lone Star Iconoclast, published a ringing Kerry endorsement, saying that Kerry will “restore American dignity.”

The publishers of The Iconoclast endorsed Bush four years ago, based on the things he promised, not on this smoke-screened agenda. Today, we are endorsing his opponent, John Kerry, based not only on the things that Bush has delivered, but also on the vision of a return to normality that Kerry says our country needs.

[…]

John Kerry has 30 years of experience looking out for the American people and can navigate our country back to prosperity and re-instill in America the dignity she so craves and deserves. He has served us well as a highly decorated Vietnam veteran and has had a successful career as a district attorney, lieutenant governor, and senator.

Kerry has a positive vision for America, plus the proven intelligence, good sense, and guts to make it happen. That’s why The Iconoclast urges Texans not to rate the candidate by his hometown or even his political party, but instead by where he intends to take the country.

It’s a small town in a quintessential Red state, and the poor paper will no doubt lose readers and advertisers as a result of the editorial, but it’s a treat to see it nevertheless.