Now that Election Day has come and gone, I thought it would be a good time to share your responses to a couple of questions I posed before voting day.

As you may recall, I expressed some naïve bewilderment over the number of cancellations we received as a result of endorsing a candidate prior to the presidential election. I also shared my amazement over an online comment that suggested we had no business publishing a “group opinion” on our Opinion page.

That prompted me to ask whether you felt it was appropriate for newspapers today to do what they began centuries ago – endorse candidates for public office at the end of political campaigns.

But before I get to your answers, I want to share some additional information I was able to compile with the help of our circulation department.

Originally, I was told that the majority of the cancellations were based on our decision to endorse a candidate for president – not specifically because we endorsed Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

Upon further review of the data, however, it turns out that quite a few of the cancellations were not that, um, generic. Here are some of the listed reasons for canceling:

“Obama endorsement.”

“Obama endorsement – never wants The Telegraph in his home ever again.”

“Upset that we endorsed Obama.”

“Cancel, we are conservative (John) McCain supporters and don’t like the full page Obama ad (editorial).”

“Obama endorsement.”

“Obama endorsement.”

“Due to Obama endorsement.” 

OK, even I can spot a trend here. Whether we would have received the same type of response had we endorsed McCain for president is something that we will never know.

So back to the question at hand: Was it inappropriate for us to endorse a candidate for president this year? 

In a word, based on what you told us, no. 

Of the two-dozen readers who responded by e-mail or posted their comments on my “Editor’s Blog,” only a couple took issue with the practice of candidate endorsements – though some of you did take advantage of the opportunity to berate us for endorsing incumbent Republican John E. Sununu in the U.S. Senate race.

“Do I think newspaper endorsements are appropriate? No. Will that ever change? No. Will I stop reading The Telegraph/Asheville Citizen-Times/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Union Leader, etc. because of endorsements? No,” wrote Dave Burgess, of Hudson, who also spends some time down South.

“As you stated, people will cancel (or threaten to) for the least little reason. But this particular campaign seems to have more people on-edge than usual.”

Chuck Hafemann of Nashua said he never had a problem with newspaper endorsements in the past, but he was troubled this year by what he felt was favorable coverage of Obama by the national press on the news pages.

As a result, he reasoned, the need to actually endorse a candidate became moot.
“It would be more intellectually honest to simply state that coverage throughout the publication, not just limited to the editorial pages, now reflects the opinions of the publication, and let it go at that,” he wrote.

Otherwise, the practice of endorsing candidates for public office received strong support. Here are a few examples of what you had to say:

– “I may not always like your opinions and your endorsements, but I like to read your rationale and sometimes I find I have missed something in my personal assessment,” wrote Ed Graves, of Nashua. “I like the fact that you endorse whomever you feel is the best candidate irrespective of party. Keep up the good work!”

– “Please continue the tradition of endorsing candidates,” agreed Charlie Matthews, of Nashua. “I generally agree with your endorsements; but whether I agree or not, I’m always interested in your rationale. You don’t endorse lightly and that’s a good thing.”

– “Unlike some of your other readers, I would never cancel my subscription because you endorsed someone I will not support, in this case John Sununu,” wrote Bill Siroty, of Amherst. “Remember, The Telegraph endorsed that turkey Charlie Bass for five terms before you saw the light and endorsed Paul Hodes two years ago – and I’ve been a subscriber since I moved here in 1994.”

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that our endorsement of Obama had the opposite effect on at least one reader.

Several days after the election, a Pelham resident posted a comment on our Web site noting she intended to cancel her six-year subscription to The Eagle-Tribune of Lawrence, Mass., and replace it with one to The Telegraph.

The reason? The Eagle-Tribune’s endorsement of McCain for president.

For the record, I didn’t see that one coming, either.

Nick Pappas is editorial page editor at The Telegraph. He can be reached at 594-6505 or npappas@nashuatelegraph.com.