<HTML><BODY STYLE="font:10pt verdana; border:none;"><P>From the Reuters News Agency today:</P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Bush's Hometown Newspaper Endorses Kerry<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 8pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Tue Sep 28, </SPAN><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:time Hour="13" Minute="19"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 8pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">1:19 PM ET</SPAN></st1:time><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 7.5pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 7.5pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">CRAWFORD, </SPAN><st1:State><st1:place><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 7.5pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Texas</SPAN></st1:place></st1:State><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 7.5pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> (Reuters) - </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The newspaper in President Bush’s adopted hometown of Crawford threw its support on Tuesday behind Bush's Democratic rival, Sen. John Kerry.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The weekly Lone Star Iconoclast criticized Bush's handling of the war in </SPAN><st1:country-region><st1:place><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Iraq</SPAN></st1:place></st1:country-region><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> and for turning budget surpluses into record deficits. The editorial also criticized Bush's proposals on Social Security and Medicare. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">"The publishers of The Iconoclast endorsed Bush four years ago, based on the things he promised, not on this smoke-screened agenda," the newspaper said in its editorial. "Today, we are endorsing his opponent, John Kerry." <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">It urged "Texans not to rate the candidate by his hometown or even his political party, but instead by where he intends to take the country." <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Bush spends many of his weekends and holidays at his Crawford, </SPAN><st1:State><st1:place><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Texas</SPAN></st1:place></st1:State><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> ranch. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The Iconoclast's publisher and editor-in-chief, W. Leon Smith, said the newspaper is sent to Bush's ranch each week. "But I don't know if he reads it," Smith said. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The Kerry campaign welcomed the endorsement in an email to reporters.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P> <P> </P></P></BODY></HTML><br clear=all><hr>Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : <a href='http://explorer.msn.com'>http://explorer.msn.com</a><br></p>