Major East and West Coast newspapers endorsed President Clinton for re-election over the weekend while Republican Bob Dole was more popular in the Midwest and South.
The New York Times, The Boston Globe, the San Francisco Examiner, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Maine Sunday Telegram as well as newspapers in Hartford, Conn., Seattle, and Portland, Ore., endorsed Clinton on Sunday. He also won the backing of The Des Moines Register and the Honolulu Advertiser. In New Jersey, Clinton won endorsements from The Asbury Park Press of Neptune, The Courier-News of Bridgewater and The Times of Trenton.Dole won endorsements from The Detroit News, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Kansas City Star, The Hutchinson (Kan.) News, The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Miss., and The Idaho Statesman in Boise.
In Connecticut, feelings were split, with Clinton endorsed by The Hartford Courant and Dole backed by The Day of New London, the Connecticut Post of Bridgeport, the Norwich Bulletin and the New Haven Register.
The New York Times called Clinton the best candidate in the field but expressed reservations about his "resoluteness and sensitivity to ethical standards in government."
But the Times said that Clinton "is clearly the most skilled navigator of today's contrary political seas."
The Boston Globe said that under Clinton's leadership, "the country is better off than it was four years ago."
The Detroit News said Dole may not be able to deliver all he promises.
"He will have to deal with reality as he finds it, as every president does. But at least Mr. Dole and Mr. Kemp are pointed in the right direction," the newspaper said in backing Dole and Jack Kemp.
In its endorsement of Dole, the Milwaukee newspaper criticized the Clinton administration for being dogged by scandal.
The Hartford Courant's endorsement of Clinton rated the president's achievements in office over his administration's ethical lapses.
Sunday's endorsement marks only the second time in 228 years the Courant has endorsed a Democrat for president. The last time it endorsed a Democrat was when it chose Clinton in 1992.
Similarly, The Oregonian endorsed Clinton as it did four years ago. In its previous 142-year history, the Portland paper had never endorsed a Democrat for president.