This is the letter to the editor I just sent to the Statesman.

Sunday's endorsement of George Bush for the presidency is a poor move - the editorial board of the Statesman points out in it's editorial all the fundimental reasons Bush cannot be trusted but "urges" the Republican candidate to replace advisors and change strategy. It is delusional to believe that this President will alter his staff or his strategy, and any endorsement dependant on the optimistic idea that Bush can change is a misguided one at best. His intractability has been noticed by a number of separate reports and indeed, has been been touted as the main reason to vote for him by his own campaign.

While I respect the Statesman's opinion, I will not continue my subscription - I don't doubt your noble motives, or even your politics, merely your judgment. The endorsement gives the strong air of newsmen who have not been paying attention to the news - and if so, how am I, as a reader, to trust that the Statesman is providing the information I need to self-govern?

I can't say that the endorsement is that surprising. But, in a way, it's largely a moot point. Most of the electorate have made up their minds in this election and a newspaper endorsement in a firm red state won't have much impact. That said, I still think Austin will go Kerry.

At least this way, I can counter my father-in-laws claim that the Statesman is a "liberal rag."

Does anyone have a direct phone number? The one posted goes to an automated system.

I agree that the endorsement won't have an impact, but it is truly disheartening.

I understand the 3 "R"s - Rich, Relgious, Racist - The republicans are your party.

And the AAS editors are certainly rich, probably religious, and perhaps subconciously racist.

As a culture, we are fucked.

I hope that Austinites are better behaved than Crawfordites were when the Iconoclast endorsed Kerry.

Disappointing, to be sure, but the Statesman hasn't reflected actual Austin values in years. AAS has yet to meet a developer or big business it didn't like, so no real surprise it would go for Bush if only to please its preferred constituency.

Besides, I suspect they looked at the circulation numbers, and decided that actual Austinite's newspaper purchases are in decline compared to GOP bastions like Georgetown and Round Rock, so AAS sees them as the emerging market. And money talks, baby.