The Lone Star Iconoclast, the weekly that bills itself as President Bush’s hometown paper, has endorsed Democrat John Kerry, saying the Massachusetts senator will restore American dignity.

The Crawford-based newspaper, which has a circulation of about 425, endorsed Mr. Bush in 2000.

The Bush ranch is near, but not in, Crawford

The editorial published in the paper says Texans should rate the candidates not by hometown or political party, but by where they intend to take the country.

The Iconoclast editorialized in support of the invasion of Iraq
and publisher W. Leon Smith backed Bush and the invasion in a BBC
interview.

But now the editorial says Americans were duped into believing
Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

"Four items trouble us the most about the Bush administration: his initiatives to disable the Social Security system, the deteriorating state of the American economy, a dangerous shift away from the basic freedoms established by our founding fathers, and his continuous mistakes regarding Iraq," the editorial said.

The paper has an online version, but the Web Site was not responding late Tuesday afternoon.

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