Here's a snippet from the non-endorsement that deals with Bush and local issues:
Our expectation four years ago was that Mr. Bush would be a good partner for Louisiana. Certainly he understands the oil industry and its importance to our state. But his administration has been cool to the state's coastal restoration and flood-control needs, and misguided steel tariffs did significant economic harm to South Louisiana ports.However, the Houston Chronicle says, "Viva Arbusto!" And they actually think a comparison to LBJ helps their case:
The Chronicle believes Bush, if granted a second term and freed of the need to appeal to the extreme factions of his party, will regain his bipartisan effectiveness at solving problems. That is not an idle hope but rests on the experience of an earlier Texan who occupied the White House, Lyndon B. Johnson. As long as he was a U.S. representative and senator elected by Texans, he never strayed far from the conventional wisdom of his constituents. In the White House, Johnson remained true to his populist roots but, freed from the common prejudice of that era, became one of the nation's foremost champions of civil rights and opportunity for all.