St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly's backing of the president fuels a backlash, giving challenger Chris Coleman a 61-26 percent lead in a new poll.... The numbers reveal what many have suspected -- that partisan anger over Kelly's endorsement of President Bush seems to be trumping all else: his housing and economic development programs, his race relations efforts and how he has handled crime....read on

Reader KYLE: By endorsing Bush, Kelly endorsed Bush's policies (I should say failed policies). Furthermore, if an endorsement of a political candidate is meaningless, what's the point of an endorsement? For a city that voted over 70% for Kerry, Kelly made a huge error. He claimed he made his decision "on principle". The people of St. Paul, as a result, are going to vote him out on principle. It seems, finally, that a politician is going to be held accountable for his actions.