Two campaign volunteers for Republican Rep. Tim Walberg (who eventually lost his seat to Democrat Mark Schauer early Wednesday morning) were overheard by a Battle Creek Enquirer reporter in Jackson, Mich., on Election Day after the results came in, wishing out loud for the assassination of Obama.

From The Battle Creek Enquirer:

Among staunch Republicans at Tuesday night’s post-election party in Jackson for U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, two Hillsdale College students — Walberg volunteers — sat beside a journalist as Obama’s image appeared on a giant-screen TV set.

“Bang-bang,” said Kayla Hoyt of Traverse City.

“Wouldn’t that be great?” said her friend, Emily Birchmeier. Then, noticing the journalist, Birchmeier said, “Shhh. We shouldn’t … don’t talk.”

“Why not?” said Hoyt.

“We’ll talk about it later,” Birchmeier responded.

Hoyt replied, “We should be able to say what we want. … But with his daughters there, that would be bad.”

Hoyt, a sophomore at Hillsdale, retreated a bit from her “bang-bang” comment when confronted about it by a reporter.

“It’s more the fact that it could happen — just because America — like, there’s so many racist people out there that having a black president, it could happen,” Hoyt said.

It seems that the violent subtext to conservative messaging during the campaign and Fox News pundits carrying these talking points unfiltered to millions of viewers has created a situation where perhaps millions of Americans feel comfortable and natural wishing the president-elect harm, ostensibly because they think he’s an enemy of the country.

During the McCain-Palin campaign rallies, reports of supporters shouting out epithets like “kill him” at the mention of Sen. Barack Obama’s name became near-daily occurrences in their campaign’s final days.

From Michigan Messenger’s Todd Heywood’s interview with author Jeffrey Feldman just last month, Feldman discusses “violent rhetoric” and its social effects:

Feldman argues that comments like Palin’s statement that Obama “pals around with terrorists” are a form of violent rhetoric. “But first,” he says, “it’s necessary to specify that ‘violent rhetoric’ is not just language that directly incites a person to commit an act of violence (e.g., ‘Kill him now!’), but also rhetoric that frames political issues in terms of violent consequences (e.g., ‘liberals were responsible for 9/11′).

“So,” continues Feldman, “when Palin says that Obama is ‘palling around with terrorists,’ she is unfolding a much larger argument about Democrats being tied to terrorists, such that a vote for Obama will have all the violent consequences that terrorism brings as a public threat. As a result of repeating that phrase, the crowds called for Obama to be dealt with like a terrorist (e.g., death penalty).”

There are far too many problems for our nation to solve. Yet, thanks to divisive rhetoric, we remain a country divided more than we would be otherwise. Those who participated in that rhetoric, or endorsed through their silence, need to step up and own the damage they’ve inflicted and call for its undoing.

Then, perhaps, we can get down to business.

I know my local gas station didn’t have a single paper when I stopped by Wednesday, but at the time, I simply thought the trucks were running late with delivery.

After hearing that papers were selling out, I stopped again in the evening, and the racks were still empty. Chris, the attendant at my local BP station in Temperance, Mich., said every paper his place carries was “gone within a couple hours early in the morning,” and some people were buying multiple copies.

Ron at Barnes and Noble in Battle Creek told me that the only paper the store had left was Sports Weekly after everything else sold out within hours of opening Wednesday.

And while you’re trying to figure out where to put your newspaper souvenir of Election 2008 and perhaps wondering if you’re being a bit silly to want to hang onto it, think about Thomas Baldwin of Bellingham, Wash.

From the Bellingham Herald:

Thomas Baldwin thinks there might be money to be made now that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is President-elect Obama.

And he’s got 10,000 reasons to be hopeful.

On Wednesday, Nov. 5, Baldwin purchased 10,000 copies of The Bellingham Herald’s election wrap-up edition that has Obama smiling and waving on the front with “Obama wins” in bold letters across the top.

Baldwin figures the historic election could some day net him a profit.

So far, the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News have stepped up and run more copies of the historic Obama headline editions and were to have them available at all their retail outlets Thursday, two days after the historic night.

The Detroit Free Press:

Vendors across Michigan sold out of the Free Press within hours — sometimes less — as people rushed in the morning after election day to get a copy of the historic edition, prompting the newspaper to immediately print 9,000 extra copies and order another 55,000 to be sold Thursday at all retail outlets in Metro Detroit — about 3,300 of them — that sell the Free Press.

The Free Press will also publish a special section on Obama’s road to the White House with the Thursday newspaper.

Sellouts were reported across the state and the country.

“This paper is significant. It is a footprint, that I was here at this time,” said Charlene Bradford, 50, of Detroit, who waited in line for 2½ hours outside of the downtown Free Press building this afternoon.

She waited longer to get her 18 copies of the newspaper, she said, than she did to vote Tuesday.

Andre Moore of Detroit said, “I knew this was going to happen because everyone wants this paper. It’s a collector’s item.”

The Detroit News:

Historic edition is being reprinted
Our first run sold out and we are currently printing more copies of Wednesday’s newspaper. They will be available at our downtown office, 615 W. Lafayette Blvd. in Detroit, and will be sold Thursday at all of our retail outlets in Metro Detroit and at select locations in outstate Michigan.

Fast Company notes that the spike in demand for print papers during the election is just a temporary respite for print newspapers today:

Unfortunately, this is just a temporary reprieve from a bigger downward spiral [for newspapers]. The Times itself published a pretty glum story last week about the young campaign embeds from the papers and the news networks, who will find few job opportunities in journalism after the election. Can it really be true that the career-making job immortalized by The Boys on the Bus in the ’70s is now more like a dead end?
Of course, not all the news about the news is bad. Media winners from this election include the sparkling — and liberal — Rachel Maddow on MSNBC, along with Web sites The Huffington Post, Politico, and the geek-heaven stats site FiveThirtyEight.com.

The worry on the minds of those of us in the media biz is not a lack of outlets. It’s that as ad dollars shift online — a process sure to be accelerated by the coming downturn — the rates and revenues just won’t rise fast enough to support good reporting in any medium.

If you weren’t able to get a day-after-Election-Day copy of your favorite paper, let me know in the comments here along with the name of the paper, and the city. I’ll try to find out for you if more copies will be made available.

The following results are as reported by MSNBC:

District 1: Bart Stupak (D) is the projected winner, defeating Tom Casperson (R)

District 2: Pete Hoekstra (R) defeating Fred Johnson (D).

District 3: Not called yet, but at the moment Vernon Ehlers (R) has a large lead over Henry Sanchez (D).

District 4: Not called yet, but again Dave Camp (R) has a significant lead over Andrew Concannon (D).

District 5: No winner yet, but Dale Kildee (D) is leading Matt Sawicki (R).

District 6: No winner yet, Frank Upton (R) is leading over Don Cooney (D).

District 7: Not called yet, but Mark Schauer (D) is holding a narrow lead over Tim Walberg (R).

District 8: Not called yet, but Mike Rogers (R) has a substantial lead over Robert Alexander (D).

District 9: Also not called yet, but Gary Peters (D) is holding a strong lead over Joe Knollenberg (R), and Jack Kervorkian (NPA).

District 10: Still waiting for this one to be called, but Candice Miller (R) is handily defeating Robert Denison (D).

District 11: Not called, so far Thad McCotter (R) is holding a lead over Joseph Larkin (D).

District 12: No call, showing Sander Levin (D) with a strong lead over Bert Copple (R).

District 13: Too early to call with Edward Gubics (R) showing a narrowing lead over Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D).

District 14: Not called yet, but showing John Conyers (D) with 88% of the vote in his district over Richard Secula (Lib), and Clyde Shabazz (Grn).

District 15: My congressman, John Dingell (D) is the projected winner in this district with a huge blow-out over John Lynch (R).

Proposition One: The medical marijuana initiative has passed this evening with 62% voting in favor of this.

Proposition Two: The stem cell initiative is still too close to call this evening, but has steadily maintained a lead thus far.

• From conservative Grosse Pointe Woods today, one Republican voter said she wasn’t pleased with her choices, but voted McCain because “It was the better of two evils.”

• The Chicago Tribune gives a run-down on the highlights of the presidential campaigning in Michigan (sans the robocalls and nasty campaign ads) and notes that a Republican presidential candidate has not won Michigan since 1988 when George H. W. Bush ran for office.

• The Detroit News has narrowed the election down to seven key factors that will shape Michigan’s future. They’re predicting that our political future could be very different from what we’ve seen in recent years.

• Newsweek has a report titled “Death of a Battleground: How McCain let Michigan go blue.” I thought we were ‘blue,’ but that aside, the article notes a key moment in McCain’s Michigan campaigning that possibly dealt him the fatal blow in the state:

Then Wall Street crashed, taking McCain’s campaign in Michigan down with it. His move to suspend his campaign and fly to Washington played even worse in a state with the nation’s highest unemployment rate and a collapsing auto industry. “When the Wall Street bubble burst, McCain became unhinged,” says Ballenger. And once on the topic of the economy, McCain made gaffes, like trying to explain to an auto-factory crowd why he supported free trade. That’s a hard sell to union members who blame free-trade agreements like NAFTA for the loss of their jobs. Soon McCain started slipping in the polls, and before long he was free-falling, dropping 13 points in Michigan by the end of September.

• MLive.com touts the lovely weather here this week as being a help to drive campaign workers to keep plugging away, going door-to-door pleading their case before Election Day. Of note is the continued fighting spirit of the Republican faithful:

“Voting matters. … It’s closer than the press is pitching,” state GOP Chairman Saul Anuzis told the party faithful on his blog, bragging that Republicans had made over 110,000 voter contacts on Saturday and were continuing to work the phones and knock on doors in the closing hours of the campaign.

• Detroit Channel 4 News will have election results for Oakland County and larger state-wide Michigan races and initiatives as they become available. Just check in here later on in the evening.

Both John McCain and Barack Obama agree with major veterans groups that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) system is broken.

The agency charged with providing medical care for veterans of the U.S. military has, for example, had difficulty providing proper care for new types of injuries incurred by troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Concussive brain injuries due to roadside bombs have taxed the VA system, as has the psychological care needed for the alarming number of returning soldiers and Marines with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. McCain offers “standing in line to get an appointment to get an appointment” as another example of the troubles both candidates say they want to solve.

Where the candidates disagree, however, is in some of the details of how they intend to accomplish the reform. The most notable division between the plans of Obama and McCain is the potential expansion of veterans care to the private sector. McCain’s plan calls for the use of a health care access card intended to allow veterans access to private doctors if they aren’t able to get into a VA facility in a timely manner.

It is a conservative tenet to redirect the functions of government to the private sector, such as the Republican-led effort to privatize many of the functions once carried out by the U.S. military. According to McCain, his plan will improve health care for veterans by making it easier for them to use non-VA hospitals:

Too many veterans are unable to obtain health care through the VA because of geographical constraints, unreasonably long waiting lists, or the lack of specialized facilities at local VA hospitals. John McCain will develop and enforce demanding new standards for veterans’ access to health care for injuries or illness related to military service: no more than an hour’s drive for care, routine care within a week, urgent care within 24 hours, and specialty care within a month.

The Traverse City Record-Eagle reported on problems veterans in northern Michigan have when the nearest special care they need is in VA hospitals in Saginaw or Ann Arbor.

Obama’s plan would improve the VA through funding rather than outsourcing. His plan also calls for an end to the 2003 ban on covering modest-income vets that has led to the denial of VA care to 1.5 million veterans — something that McCain says would risk “clogging the system.” McCain says he doesn’t oppose adding the banned veterans [Also known as Priority 8's] back into the VA roll, but says income tests to gradually absorb the group is the best way to do that.

From a March 2008 joint press release of the Senate and House Veterans Affairs Committees:

On January 17, 2003, the Bush Administration banned enrollment of “Priority 8″ veterans into the VA health care system due to resource constraints. Priority 8′s are non service-connected veterans who exceed a certain income cap, currently as low as $28,430 in some regions. VA estimates that as many as 1.5 million middle-income veterans have been denied, or are awaiting, enrollment into the VA health care system due to this restriction.

Another key issue being eyed for reform is the VA’s funding stream, which has been inconsistent, according to the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), a nonpartisan advocacy organization of disabled vets with more than 1.4 million members. As DAV asserts, it’s been 12 years since Congress approved a VA budget ahead of the VA budget year. The DAV says that if the funding stream can be corrected, the VA would be in a better position to take care of veterans needs in a timely fashion.

McCain has addressed the funding issue, but DAV has said it fears that McCain’s platform against pork-barrel spending and earmarks could place further roadblocks in the way of consistent funding.

What the DAV voices the most concern about the question of privatization.

Joe Violante, DAV national legislative director, detailed his concerns in an August article in the National Journal this way:

“The problem with contracting out [to private health care providers] is the costs are greater than it is for VA to treat individuals at VA,” Violante said. “So, if we send more veterans out into the private sector, we start increasing the costs for VA health care, which then forces VA to ration care to those individuals who are within the system. … We believe if we can correct the funding stream, VA would be in a better situation to take care of more veterans in a timely fashion.”

Violante also addressed a key area of concern with the McCain plan:

Violante would not speak directly to the value of McCain’s Veterans Health Care Access Card because he said that the senator’s public statements on the issue had been confusing. “At one point he had talked about VA focusing on combat injuries and combat disabled, and veterans looking for routine care would get this card to go elsewhere,” Violante said. “That’s kind of changed now from what I heard today. He’s basically talking about all disabled vets and indigent veterans being cared for by VA being able to get that card if they don’t have that access. But again, the details — it’s tough even talking to staff about it. They’re not really sure of the details. We’re still working it out, and we still continue to talk to them about our concerns about that type of talk.”

Violante has continued to report his concerns. From the News Observer, Oct. 31, 2008:

Violante … said details for McCain’s plan are sketchy, but that any attempt to move patients out of the VA “concerns us.”

As quoted in the August article in the National Journal, McCain denied that the card idea was tantamount to privatization:

“As today, as other occasions, I have stated in the plainest, most straightforward terms that the Veterans Health Care Access Card will expand existing benefits,” McCain said. “I don’t expect this to deter the Obama campaign from misrepresenting my proposals, but lest there be any doubt, you have my pledge: My reforms would not force anyone to go to a non-VA facility. That is my promise. They will not signal privatization of the VA.”

Still the DAV is not alone in its skepticism.

In an Associated Press article from this summer, VA Secretary James Peake spoke regarding the card component of McCain’s veteran’s platform:

After touring the Manchester VA Medical Center, VA Secretary James Peake also said he is against giving veterans cards to let them receive treatment at non-VA facilities.

“That’s called Yellow-Page medicine,” Peake said. “I think that potentially is dangerous, because I’m not sure the individual is necessarily the best consumer. It’s hard to be an educated consumer of health care.”

He said keeping veterans in the system improves care by keeping it coordinated.

Larry Scott of the private Web site VAWatchdog.org also opposes McCain’s access card program. In an August post on his blog he wrote:

For every veteran who opts for private health care, that is one less veteran using the VA … which means the VA would receive less funding. So it would “privatize” a great deal of VA health care and lead to the decline, or even the destruction, of the VA as we know it. The solution is not to offer private health care that would cost the taxpayers 25% to 100% more per visit or procedure, but to properly fund the VA to do the job it is supposed to do. The solution is mandatory funding for VA health care, something to which McCain is opposed.

Even though veterans groups were critical of McCain’s VA health care plan, all cited respect for the Arizona senator and his military service.

Michigan Messenger spoke to Kay Barnes at the McCain campaign headquarters in Farmington Hills today seeking more clarity on the specifics of Senator McCain’s health care plan for veterans, and she said:

“No one on staff here in Michigan, or anywhere else within the campaign that can comment on the specifics of Senator McCain’s veterans health care plan. I know he is in total support of the troops, and for a better economy. He really does support our troops.”

Michigan vets speak on health care

Michigan Messenger spoke with some area veterans to see if they had any reaction to either candidate’s plans for VA health care.

Navy veteran Eric Baerren of Mount Pleasant, a liberal blogger, spoke frankly about his concerns regarding his health, and treatment, should the need arise.

Baerren contracted tuberculosis in the 1990s — along with several hundred other sailors — while stationed off the coast of Bosnia. He received the positive test results the day his service ended. Military rules required that he receive a formal diagnosis before the end of that day in order to be eligible for health care for the illness.

Forced to visit a county health clinic due to the time constraints, Baerren saw a physician who “had to look up TB in a book because he had never treated anyone with the illness before.” Baerren left the clinic with only his formal diagnosis as required by the military and was able to begin his lengthy treatment with a VA facility. Should his TB become active again, his would be difficult to treat because it is possible that he is immune to many commonly prescribed antibiotics. Baerren says that the VA is his safety net and that the McCain plan’s unknowns “rather terrify” him. At the VA, there are specialists who have treated boatloads of sailors. They wouldn’t have to research first before knowing where to turn.

Another Navy man, “Charlie,” who didn’t want his full name used, is a Vietnam veteran from Saginaw who identified himself as a McCain supporter.

He lost both legs during his service. The VA “is very important to me” as a disabled veteran, Charlie said, but he declined comment on either candidate’s health care plan, and said that he and some fellow veterans were in continuing discussions on the topic.

Another Michigan veteran, Donald Bortz of Waterford — who also happens to be running as a Democrat for Oakland County commissioner — sharply rebuked the McCain plan. Bortz is under the impression that his friend who received a non-combat injury in Iraq would not receive the same treatment as a wounded-in-combat veteran. It is not clear that that is the case, however.

“I think it sucks,” said Bortz. “I think it sucks because McCain’s plan states that veterans who were injured in a noncombat situation will not be receiving the same care as those who were. I had a friend in Iraq who was injured because he was accidentally hit in the head with a 2×4. To say that he doesn’t deserve quality health care just because he wasn’t blown up is an insult to his service.”

Whichever candidate wins the election Tuesday, the plan that the winner implements is one that will have to meet the needs of not only current troops and veterans but a continued influx of returning vets. Changes in combat tactics, equipment and weapons like roadside bombs have spurred changes in the sorts of injuries more commonly seen.

For more on John McCain’s Veterans’ Care Access Card, see the full summary of his plan on his campaign Web site.

For more on Obama’s veterans health care plan, see the full summary on the Obama-Biden campaign Web site.

Voters in Redford Township are being warned against phony phone calls that are going out saying polling locations in the township have been changed.

Redford Township Clerk Garth Christie said no voting locations have been changed and anyone who receives a call should contact the Redford Township Police Department at 313-387-2551.

Christie further warns that such calls are illegal and violate Federal law. Redford Township Clerk Garth Christie’s full statement available online here.

(photo: courtesy of Detroit News)

They perished in a house fire that destroyed five homes last week, including the $300-per-month rental home where the family had been living since Oct. 9. The children’s mother, Katie, lost the family home to foreclosure and struggled to keep the family off the streets and put a roof over her children’s heads.

Any roof.

Instead of a radiator, there was a space heater. Instead of a stove, a hot plate. Instead of a bathroom, a bucket.

This was the two-story house on Waverly into which Katie Dale and her three children moved two weeks ago. It was the best she could do after being evicted from another home for failing to pay property taxes.

…

With a spate of foreclosures and rising heating costs, officials are worried that other Metro Detroit residents could face danger as they turn to space heaters and other methods to keep warm this winter.

“Times just aren’t so good in the inner city right now,” said state Rep. Bert Johnson, whose district includes Highland Park. “We have to ask people who are living without heat or lights to make it public.”

Highland Park is at special risk because the city has been in state receivership since 2002, and no longer has inspectors to certify the safety of rental homes.

Michigan has noted a marked decline in foreclosures, with ‘only’ 10,553 properties reporting foreclosure filings in September. This could signal good news on the horizon for Michigan, yet it is far too late for thousands, and certainly too late for Orlando, Zeryha and Melvin, as well as their great-aunt, Josephine. When I see the foreclosure signs that now spot the region, it’s the faces of those darling children with wide, sparkling eyes that I see.

Banks are getting government assistance; insurance companies and their executives are still getting their big bonuses. When will those who need help most see some relief? The weather is only getting colder.

The Detroit News offers these help-line contacts for those in need of utility assistance:

Heating aid

Need help paying utilities? Contact your energy provider first to see if you can arrange a payment plan for the winter:

* DTE Energy: 1-800-477-4747
* Consumers Energy: 1-800-477-5050
* SEMCO Energy Gas: 1-800-624-2019
* Low-income residents seeking energy assistance funds should contact their local Michigan Department of Human Services office or call the DHS Energy Hotline at 1-800-292-5650.
* The Heat and Warmth Fund provides payment assistance mostly to low-income residents who have received notice or have had their utilities cut off. Contact THAW at 1-800-866-8429

From the Detroit News’ September report:

As part of a deal to settle 10 felony charges against him, Kilpatrick will leave office and repay the city $1 million. He has pleaded guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice and no contest to one charge he assaulted a law enforcement officer. He will give up his law license. He cannot run for office for five years. Kilpatrick will be sentenced Oct. 28 and report directly to jail, where he’ll stay for at least 100 days of his 120-day sentence. He’ll be behind bars over Christmas and will be released no sooner than Jan. 27, 2009.

Kwame’s new ‘home’

Detroit News:

Because of his notoriety, Kilpatrick will be assigned a solitary cell in a second-floor unit that houses high-profile offenders — the same cell where he spent the night Aug. 7 for a bond violation, jail officials said.

Known as the “Capias Unit” — an apparent reference to an archaic word for “arrest” — it’s reserved for celebrated, usually short-term guests such as Dr. Jack Kevorkian and drug slinger “White Boy” Rick Wershe. The unit consists of two cells. Both are larger than standard cells and include a pay telephone, an 8-by-7-foot bathroom with a shower and a writing table.

But Kilpatrick’s cell, Room 14J-4, is no palace. The walls are stained. The shower pressure is weak. Three small, barred windows provide little light, but a drab view of the courthouse where Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to two felonies.

The mattress is lumpy. Meals are fed through a slot in the steel door.

But then again, the phone and extra space are not the only perks. If he brings his own TV, Kilpatrick can have cable television — if he leaves the tube behind after his 120-day sentence.

According to the Detroit News, Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans said he’ll keep “fringe lunatics” away from the former mayor during his stay.

It’s unclear what Evans meant by fringe lunatics. Perhaps taxpayers angry over Kilpatrick’s jet-setting that led to the $286,000 credit card tab for the city of Detroit, or the $8.4 million whistle-blower lawsuit settlement that the city of Detroit’s taxpayers were stuck with? It could even mean people who are just angry over the $126.18 restaurant tab that he walked out on just last week at the Detroit Club, telling members as he walked out to “charge it to the city.” Or are they the folks still disgusted with the text-messaging scandal, that I’ll spare you by not linking to?

Gone but not to be forgotten

While Kilpatrick roughs it in his little roach-infested jail cell wearing that ugly green city-issued jump suit and watching cable TV, it’s doubtful that he’ll fade from memory anytime soon. Just last week, a new witness came forward in the murder of Tamara Greene. Greene was the exotic dancer found shot execution-style in her car and had been rumored to have performed for a party at the Manoogian mansion and been assaulted by the mayor’s wife, Carlita.

From the Detroit News, an update on that case:

A city paramedic alleged in an affidavit released Thursday that he saw an injured woman at Detroit Receiving Hospital in fall 2002 who claimed to have been assaulted by the wife of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

“She said that the mayor’s wife beat her…” said Cenobio Chapa, who has worked with the Detroit Fire Department since 1991. “That got my attention. … It was out of the ordinary. ”

The affidavit was given to Norman Yatooma, the attorney representing the family of slain dancer Tamara “Strawberry” Greene.

Sure, Kilpatrick denounced the wild party as just a rumor. But then, he said a lot of things, didn’t he?

Presidential candidates Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain (photos: Flickr.com)

In not much of a surprise, John McCain picked up the endorsement from Michigan’s conservative-leaning Detroit News last Thursday and the Grand Rapids Press yesterday. But nationwide, the Obama-Biden ticket maintains a strong lead in the race for daily newspaper endorsements, by 177 to 69, nearly a 3-1 margin, and with an even wider spread in terms of those paper’s circulations.

At least 35 papers have now switched to Obama from Bush in 2004, with four flipping to McCain.

From the Detroit News:

“During these perilous times, the nation needs an experienced, proven leader in the White House. Sen. John McCain is best equipped for the job.

The Republican presidential candidate has the character, pragmatism and independence necessary to lead a united America past our poisonous partisan divisions and into a more civil and productive future.

Seemingly a snub to the Arizona senator, the Ann Arbor News — which had endorsed George W. Bush in 2004 — announced its decision not to endorse a presidential candidate this year.

From the Ann Arbor News:

“When this newspaper decides not to endorse a candidate in an election, it’s usually because we believe neither is qualified for the office.

In this year’s presidential race, that’s not the case. Both Barack Obama, a Democrat, and John McCain, a Republican, are qualified to be president.

Yet when we look at this pair, we see two seriously flawed candidates who have run very disappointing campaigns. And although it’s possible that either man will turn out to make an excellent president, we find ourselves unable to work up sufficient enthusiasm to endorse either one.”

The Detroit Free Press endorsement of Barack Obama last week also wasn’t a shocker, as even it states in its endorsement that its pick was predictable. Here’s a snippet from that endorsement:

“Despite his relatively short time in public office, Obama, 47, has over the course of the general election campaign steadily articulated a progressive, pragmatic vision for this country, keyed to opportunities for the middle class, and demonstrated time and again that his approach to things is grounded in deliberation and reflection. He’s a man clearly open to ideas and willing to search for the right answer to a problem rather than pursuing the expedient one.

His mantra of “change” is rooted in a well-grounded perspective on governing and leadership.

These qualities will serve well a country that’s hungry for a unified, hopeful vision.”

Obama has also picked up the endorsements of the Detroit-based Michigan Chronicle,The Muskegon Chronicle, the Bay City Times, Lansing State Journal, Livingston Daily, Battle Creek Enquirer and the Saginaw News.

Outside Michigan, Obama was also endorsed on Thursday by the Philadelphia Daily News and the New York Times, which are still no surprise from the Democratic-leaning papers. However, the Times offers a particularly glowing endorsement:

“Mr. Obama has met challenge after challenge, growing as a leader and putting real flesh on his early promises of hope and change. He has shown a cool head and sound judgment. We believe he has the will and the ability to forge the broad political consensus that is essential to finding solutions to this nation’s problems.”

According to the Times’ interactive timeline, the daily hasn’t supported a Republican since 1956 when it endorsed Dwight D. Eisenhower over Adlai Stevenson.

History was also made in Hartford, Conn., and in Chicago. The Hartford Courant endorsement of Obama was announced over the weekend — only the second time in the paper’s 244-year history that it has endorsed a Democratic candidate for president, while the Chicago Tribune’s endorsement of Obama was the first time for that paper to endorse a Democrat for president. The McCain campaign said this was expected in a hometown newspaper.

In McCain’s home state, the Republican-leaning Arizona Republic endorsed McCain over the weekend, ending much speculation over which candidate that paper might favor.

Below is my tally of state-by-state newspaper endorsements. A “(B)” denotes that the paper voted for Bush in 2004, “(K)” denotes that it voted for Kerry in 2004, “(N)” signifies “no endorsement” in 2004, and the numbers that follow are the paper’s circulation if available.

BARACK OBAMA
177 daily newspapers total
More than 16,172,397 daily circulation total

ALABAMA
The Florence Times Daily (B)
Tuscaloosa News (K): 32,768

ALASKA
Anchorage Daily News (B)

ARKANSAS
Arkansas Times (K)

CALIFORNIA
The Argus (Fremont) (K): 26,749
Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek) (K): 183,086
Daily Breeze (Torrance) (B): 66,599
Daily News (Los Angeles) (K): 137,344
Daily Review (Hayward) (K): 30,704
The Fresno Bee (K): 150,334
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario) (B): 53,903
La Opinion (Los Angeles) (K): 114,892
Long Beach Press Telegram (B): 85,595
Los Angeles Times (N): 773,884
Marin Independent-Journal (K): 31,909
Merced Sun Star (K): 15,015
The Modesto Bee (K): 78,001
The Monterey County Herald (K): 28,933
Oakland Tribune (K): 96,535
Pasadena Star-News (B): 27,894
San Gabriel Valley Tribune (B): 40,051
San Mateo Daily Journal: 14,800
The (Stockton) Record (B): 57,486
The Sacramento Bee (K): 288,755
San Bernardino Sun (B): 54,315
San Francisco Chronicle (K): 370,345
San Jose Mercury News (K): 234,772
San Mateo County Times (K): 25,982
Santa Cruz Sentinel (K): 23,290
Tri-Valley Herald (B): 29,759

COLORADO
Aspen Daily News (K): 12,500
The Aurora Sentinel (K): 46,000
Boulder Camera (K): 28,994
Cortez Journal (K): 6,700
The Denver Post (B): 225,193
The Durango Herald (K): 8,870
Gunnison Country Times (N): 4,000
Ouray County Plaindealer (K): 3,000
Vail Daily: 10,525

CONNECTICUT
The Day in New London
Hartford Courant
New Haven Register (B): 72,613
Norwich Bulletin

DELAWARE
The News Journal (Wilmington) (K): 110,171

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The Washington Post (K): 673,180

FLORIDA
Daytona Beach News-Journal (K): 99,627
Lakeland Ledger (B)
Miami Herald (K): 240,223
Naples Daily News (B): 66,272
Orlando Sentinel (K): 227,593
The Palm Beach Post (K): 164,474
Sarasota Herald-Tribune (K): 114,904
St. Petersburg Times (K)

GEORGIA
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (K): 326,907

The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (B)

HAWAII
Honolulu Star-Bulletin (K): 64,305

IDAHO
Idaho Statesman (K): 61,927

ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune (B): 541,663
Chicago Sun-Times (K): 312,274
Daily Herald (Arlington) (K): 143,152
Lake County News-Sun (Waukegan) (B): 16,899
Rockford Register Star (K): 55,913
Southwest News-Herald (K): 9,300

INDIANA
The Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne) (K): 64,304
Palladium-Item (Richmond) (B): 15,453

IOWA
Des Moines Register (K)
The Hawk Eye (Burlington) (K): 18,921
Mason City Globe Gazette (B): 17,666
Quad-City Times
The Storm Lake Times (K): 3,200

KENTUCKY
The Ledger Independent (Maysville)
Lexington Herald-Leader (K):109,624
Louisville Courier-Journal (K)

LOUISIANA
The Times-Picayune (N)

MARYLAND
Baltimore Sun (K)

MAINE
Bangor Daily News (K): 55,627
Brunswick Times-Record (K): 9,317

MASSACHUSETTS
The Boston Globe (K): 350,605
Berkshire Eagle
North Adams Transcript: 5,949
The Standard-Times (New Bedford) (K): 30,306

MICHIGAN
Battle Creek Enquirer
Bay City Times
Lansing State Journal (K) 65,886
Livingston Daily
Detroit Free Press (K): 308,944
Michigan Chronicle (Detroit) (N): 31,872
The Muskegon Chronicle (K): 41,114
Saginaw News 50,000

MINNESOTA
The Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (K)
St. Cloud Times (K): 25,868

MISSOURI
Columbia Daily Tribune (K): 18,131
The Kansas City Star (K): 252,785
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (K): 255,057

MONTANA
Billings Gazette 47,105

NEVADA
Las Vegas Sun (K): 174,341

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Concord Monitor (K): 19,885
Nashua Telegraph (K): 24,272

NEW JERSEY
Asbury Park Press (Neptune) (B): 140,882
Bergen Record

NEW MEXICO
Las Cruces Sun-News (B): 21,341
Santa Fe New Mexican (K): 25,249

NEW YORK
Albany Times-Union
Buffalo News (K): 178,365
Daily News (B): 703,137
The Daily Star (Oneonta) (K): 14,391
el Diario (K): 53,856
Glens Falls Post-Star
The New York Times (K) 1,048,109
Poughkeepsie Journal (B)
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle
Syracuse Post-Standard

NORTH CAROLINA
Asheville Citizen-Times (K): 50,160
Charlotte Observer (K) 215,379
The Daily Reflector (Greenville) (K): 21,703
Durham Herald-Sun (N): 32,845
News & Observer (Raleigh) (K): 176,083
Wilmington Star-News (K): 47,620

OHIO
Akron Beacon-Journal (K): 119,929
The Blade (Toledo) (K): 119,901
Dayton Daily News (K): 116,690
Hamilton Journal-News (B): 19,432
Middletown Journal: 17,285
The Repository (Canton) (B): 65,789
The Times-Reporter (New Philadelphia) (B): 22,428
Springfield News-Sun (K): 24,684
The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) (N): 330,280

OKLAHOMA
Muskogee Phoenix (K)

OREGON
Corvallis Gazette-Times: 12,092
The Daily Astorian (Astoria) (K): 8,263
Mail Tribune (Medford) (K): 30,349
The Oregonian (Portland) (K): 304,399
Register-Guard (Eugene) (K): 67,400
Statesman-Journal (Salem) (K): 47,152
Yamhill Valley News-Register (McMinnville) (B): 10,921

PENNSYLVANIA
The Daily Item (Sunbury) (N): 24,879
Erie Times (B)
The Express-Times (Easton) (B): 44,561
Harrisburg Patriot-News
Philadelphia Daily News (K)
Philadelphia Inquirer (K): 334,150
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (K): 214,374
York Daily Record (B)

RHODE ISLAND
Providence Journal (B) 149,094

TENNESSEE
Chattanooga Times (K): 71,716
The Commercial Appeal (Memphis) (K): 146,961
The (Nashville) Tennessean (K): 161,131

TEXAS
Austin American-Statesman (B): 170,309
The Eagle (Bryan-College Station): 21,654
Fort Worth Star Telegram (B)
Houston Chronicle (B): 494,131
Longview News-Journal (K): 27,590
The Lufkin Daily News (K): 12,225

UTAH
The Salt Lake Tribune (B): 121,699

VERMONT
Bennington Daily
Burlington Free Press (K): 41,901
Brattleboro Daily
Randolph Daily

VIRGINIA
Falls Church News-Press (K): 30,500

WASHINGTON
The Columbian (B): 44,623
The News Tribune (Tacoma) (K): 111,778
The Olympian (Olympia) (K): 30,755
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (K): 129,563
The Seattle Times (K): 220,883
Tri-City Herald (K): 40,830
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin (K): 13,624
Yakima Herald-Republic (B): 38,077

WEST VIRGINIA
The Charleston Gazette (K): 48,061
Huntington Herald-Dispatch (K): 27,463

WISCONSIN
The Capital Times (Madison) (K): 16,335
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Stevens Point Journal
Wisconsin State Journal (Madison) (B): 87,930

JOHN McCAIN
69 daily newspapers total
More than 4,139,700 daily circulation total

ARIZONA
Arizona Republic (B)

CALIFORNIA
Bakersfield Californian (B) 59,433
The Desert Sun (Palm Springs, Ca.)
Napa Valley Register (B): 16,283
Riverside Press-Enterprise (B): 164,189
The San Francisco Examiner (B): 80,000
San Diego Union-Tribune (B): 288,669

COLORADO
Mountain Valley News (Cedaredge): 2,000
The Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction) (B): 31,349
Daily Times-Call (Longmont) (B): 21,127
The Pueblo Chieftain (B): 49,169

CONNECTICUT
The Register Citizen (Torrington) (B): 8,217

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The Washington DC Examiner (N): 100,073

FLORIDA
Bradenton Herald (K): 48,618
Cape Coral Daily Breeze: 2,015
Palatka Daily News: 11,000
Tampa Tribune: (N)220,522

IOWA
The Messenger (Fort Dodge) (B): 16,355

MARYLAND
The Baltimore Examiner (N): 50,000

MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Herald (B): 182,350
The (Lowell) Sun (B): 44,439
The Eagle-Tribune

MICHIGAN
The Detroit News: 188,171
Grand Rapids Press

MINNESOTA
The Journal (New Ulm) (B): 7,920

NEBRASKA
The Lincoln Journal-Star
McCook Daily Gazette: 5,903

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Foster’s Daily Democrat (B): 22,547
Union Leader (Manchester) (B): 51,782

NEW MEXICO
Roswell Daily Record: 11,700

NEVADA
Las Vegas Review-Journal (B): 174,341

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Claremont Eagle Times

NEW YORK
New York Post (B): 702,488

NORTH DAKOTA
Fargo Forum (B): 48,303

OHIO
The Cincinnati Enquirer (B)
Columbus Dispatch (B): 199,524
The (Findlay) Courier (B): 22,319

OKLAHOMA
Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: 18,400
The Oklahoman

OREGON
Bend Bulletin (B): 32,455

PENNSYLVANIA
Lancaster New Era
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (K)
Philadelphia Inquirer (K)
Public Opinion (Chambersburg) (N): 16,679
The Sentinel (Lewistown) (B): 11,863

SOUTH CAROLINA
The State (Columbia) (B)

TENNESSEE
The Chattanooga Free Press (B): 71,716
The Jackson Sun (K): 32,121
The Leaf-Chronicle (Clarksville) (B): 20,354

TEXAS
Amarillo Globe-News (B): 44,764
Beaumont Enterprise (B): 45,684
Corpus Christi Caller-Times (K): 53,368
Dallas Morning News (B): 368,313
Galveston Daily News
Kerrville Daily Times: 8,971
The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (B): 49,094
San Antonio Express-News (B): 225,447
Times Record News (Wichita Falls) (N): 28,888
Tyler Morning Telegraph: 35,598

VIRGINIA
Bristol Herald
The Daily News Record (Harrisonburg): 30,908
Daily Press (Newport News) (K): 91,508
Lynchburg News & Advance
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Waynesboro News-Virginian
The Winchester Star (B): 20,218

WASHINGTON
Centralia (Wash.) Chronicle
(Spokane) Spokesman-Review (B): 89,779

WEST VIRGINIA
Parkersburg Daily
Wheeling News-Register (B): 12,821
Weirton Daily

WEEKLIES / COLLEGE

BARACK OBAMA
Arkansas Times (Little Rock)
The Bowdoin Orient (Bowdoin College)
The Chronicle (Duke University)
Cincinnati CityBeat (Ohio)
City Newspaper (Rochester, NY)
EPG News
Hoy
Hunterdon Review (Clinton, NJ)
Independent Weekly (North Carolina)
Metro Santa Cruz (California)
Minnesota Daily
New York Observer (New York)
News-Register (McMinnville, OR)
The Pacific Northwest Inlander (Spokane, WA)
San Diego CityBeat (California)
Santa Barbara Independent (California)
Santa Monica Mirror (California)
The Virginia Gazette (Williamsburg)
Windsor Beacon (Colorado)

JOHN McCAIN
The Garden City News (New York)
Lampasas Dispatch Record (Texas)
River Falls Journal (Wisconsin)
Wharton Journal-Spectator (Texas)

CHOOSING NOT TO ENDORSE
Abilene Reporter-News
Ann Arbor News (B)
Colorado Springs Gazette
Fort Meyers News-Press (Florida)
Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star (B) (Virginia)
Indianapolis Star (B)
Mountain Home News (Idaho)
Springfield News-Leader
The Record Searchlight (California)
Waco Tribune Herald (Texas)

A similar list is compiled by the trade magazine Editor & Publisher.

Sign carried by health care protester this summer. (photo: Andrea Gage at AFLCIO2008 via Flickr.com)

Health Care for America Now (HCAN) has responded to Congressman Tim Walberg’s threat to sue over a television ad by extending its television ad buy in Michigan (see below). And, far from backing down, HCAN is running a new print advertisement in the local weekly. HCAN, a national grassroots campaign for improved health care, is putting its hard-hitting ad -– “Fighter” — back on the air in Congressman Walberg’s district for three additional days and has taken out a full-page ad in the Tecumseh Herald asking “What Is Walberg Hiding?” (The ad can be viewed here in PDF format.)

The Walberg campaign issued a press release last week announcing intended unspecified legal action against Health Care for America Now for a television ad running in the congressman’s 7th district, based on the Walberg campaign’s contention that the ad is “untrue.” Walberg’s initial press release can be viewed here. It includes a point-by-point response to the ad’s charges. The main charge in the HCAN ad is the claim that Rep. Walberg sponsored legislation that would allow insurance companies to set their own rules, and warns that by setting their own rules, insurance companies could then deny coverage for preexisting conditions like cancer. This is why Walberg’s campaign feels the HCAN ad is wrong (from the press release.):

The bill cited in the TV ad gives consumers the option to purchase health insurance from other states. It has nothing to do with restricting health insurance for cancer victims; it simply lets consumers have more options when shopping for health insurance. [National Center for Policy Analysis, Congressman John Shaddegg, Congressional Research Service]

· The claim in the ad that the bill “would let insurance companies make the rules” is untrue.

HCAN stands by its claim that the ad accurately points out Walberg’s record on health care. Another release from the Walberg campaign demanded a retraction but HCAN refused.

“Congressman Walberg sponsored legislation that allows insurance companies to pick the state where they want to be regulated,” said John Freeman, Michigan Director of Health Care for America Now. “This would allow insurance companies to sell insurance from a different state to Michigan consumers with weaker benefits for fighting cancer and diabetes. If Congressman Walberg thinks he has done nothing wrong, then why is he working hard to hide his record from Michigan voters?”

HCAN sent both Rep. Walberg and Democratic opponent Mark Schauer a sign-on form asking, “Which Side Are You On?” (A PDF of the form is available for viewing here.)

Schauer returned HCAN’s form with a signature indicating he is committed to quality, affordable health care for all. According to HCAN, Walberg responded with a letter dated September 25, 2008, declining to sign the HCAN statement.

Looking at the signing statement, there are only two options given for signers. One is that you agree with and support all of the goals and ideals of HCAN. The other option is to sign a statement stating that you are on “this side” under a list of statements that, in short, is something akin to signing off on a statement that ‘You are an evil troll.’

From the Jackson Citizen Patriot, reporting on Walberg’s second released response to the HCAN ad:

Walberg’s campaign disseminated its attorney’s letter Thursday that calls on the group to retract or correct the ad, and threatens potential legal action.

The letter explains that under the legislation cited in the advertisement, insurance companies still would be regulated by state and federal law, and would not make the rules.

The legislation would also provide the option of buying health insurance across state lines.

The health care bill in question, co-sponsored by Walberg, the “Health Care Choice Act of 2007″ (H.R. 4460) had 63 co-sponsors in the House, all Republicans. Walberg’s voting record is also over 90% along standard, Republican party lines, according to Congressional voting records available at OpenCongress.org, as well as voting trends analysis. Schauer, his challenger, has no record to hold up to such scrutiny.

“Congressman Walberg’s lousy record on health care speaks for itself. Tim Walberg not only voted for a bill that would allow insurance companies to sell policies in Michigan without following Michigan laws, he also voted against expanding SCHIP health care coverage for children, and against allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices with drug companies to help seniors,” said Freeman. “Congressman Walberg can try and run from his own record, but Michigan voters have a right to know what side he’s on.”

Walberg did vote against the SCHIP legislation, as well as the Medicare initiative, but once again, he did so in keeping with the majority of the Republican Party. Allowing insurance companies to sell policies in Michigan without following state laws gets a little more complicated, as yes, insurance could be purchased under this plan in other states, with the provider following their home-state guidelines, but only if the coverage and issuer comply with the conditions of H.R. 4460. (The text of the bill — H.R.4460 — is available here.)

Congressman Walberg has supported important cancer-fighting legislation, and he accurately cites his voting record on this issue here. It includes support for research and the regulation of health care providers benefits for breast cancer, as well as free and low-cost breast and cervical cancer screening for low-income, minority, and uninsured women.

The citizens in Michigan’s 7th district will have to make the call on election day as to whether or not Congressman Walberg’s Republican Party values are in step with their own, and meeting the needs of themselves and their families.

HCAN’s website lists its organizational members as ACORN, American Federation of State, Children’s Defense Action Council, County and Municipal Employees, Americans United for Change, Campaign for America’s Future, Center for American Progress Action Fund, Campaign for Community Change, MoveOn.org, National Council of La Raza, National Education Association, National Women’s Law Center, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Service Employees International Union, United Food and Commercial Workers, and USAction.