Yale Student-Run Newspaper Endorses Kerry

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Yale’s undergraduate student newspaper Friday chose one alumnus over another in the race for the White House, endorsing Sen. John F. Kerry.

The Yale Daily News gave President Bush, class of 1968, good marks for handling the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and their aftermath, but it faulted him for his Iraq war policy and handling of domestic issues.

Kerry, the Democratic challenger, who graduated from Yale in 1966, has his faults, the newspaper’s editorial acknowledged. But the paper said it trusted the Massachusetts senator to be fair and thoughtful.

“Yale prides itself on rewarding intellectual curiosity and fostering open debate. And though the White House is not a seminar room, we value a president’s willingness to think critically about his beliefs and subject his proposals to scrutiny,” the Daily News said.

“In Bush, we see a president who has been constrained by stubbornly refusing to admit his mistakes or entertain alternative ideas. But in these uncertain times, we need a president with the ability to be both strong and open-minded -- a president like John Kerry,” the newspaper wrote.