AUSTIN - At least 300 people upset about the Austin American-Statesman's endorsement of President Bush for a second term gathered near the newspaper offices to protest.
The Sunday demonstration was organized shortly after the American-Statesman posted the editorial on its Web site at 6 p.m. Saturday, protesters said.
"As soon as it hit online, people started phoning and e-mailing and saying, 'What should we do?' " said Glen Maxey, a former Democratic state representative, who used a bullhorn to urge people to go door-to-door promoting Democrat John Kerry and his running mate, John Edwards.
The protest took place on the Congress Avenue bridge over Town Lake, near the Statesman's office building.
The newspaper's lengthy editorial in Sunday's editions a cautious endorsement of Bush, who was Texas governor from 1995 until December 2000, when he resigned to become president.
"I thought it was very interesting to read, because it reads like an endorsement of Kerry," said Sarah Bird, who wore a shirt that read, "Kiss Bush Goodbye!"
Austin resident Pat Miller said the editorial "makes a case for one thing and says another."
The newspaper endorsement said Bush was the best candidate to lead the country during the war on terror. It gave him credit for prodding Libya to give up its nuclear program and for Afghanistan's first free presidential election.
But the endorsement also points out what it described as the Bush administration's mistakes, including its reliance on "flawed intelligence" related to the war in Iraq and "its inability to admit lapses in judgment." The editorial urges Bush to get rid of Attorney General John Ashcroft, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Rumsfeld's deputy, Paul Wolfowitz. The newspaper also expressed concern about the erosion of civil liberties on Bush's watch.
The editorial concludes, "We do not make this endorsement lightly or without reservation, and we ask that the president return our faith by acknowledging his failures and acting to correct them."
American-Statesman Editor Rich Oppel said the newspaper will let the endorsement speak for itself.
"One of the great things about Austin is that people feel strongly about politics and act on their beliefs," Oppel said. "As for the Statesman's editorial board, we join Senator Kerry's Austin supporters in celebrating our First Amendment rights."
The Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News also have endorsed Bush.
In the 2000 election, Austin's Travis County voted for Bush over Democrat Al Gore by a margin of 47 percent to 42 percent.
===== "Don't make me get the flying monkeys!" - Wicked Witch