* The Tribune endorsed Tammy Duckworth for congress…

Walsh has been a congressman made for cable television, but not for his constituents. He has fueled the political vitriol that has paralyzed Washington, that nearly shut down the federal government, that has failed to produce meaningful fiscal reform and economic recovery. We saw something in that endorsement interview — what a congressman Joe Walsh might have been.

* As did the Daily Herald…

Our endorsement instead goes to former Veterans Affairs leader Tammy Duckworth, a war veteran from Hoffman Estates, who has campaigned as a constructive, bipartisan problem solver and would eschew extreme rhetoric in favor of thoughtfully working together. We think she would be the kind of moderate Blue Dog Democrat who reflects the new 8th District, which takes in portions of western Cook, northern DuPage and eastern Kane counties.

* Walsh issued a defiant statement in response…

“I’m not at all surprised by the decisions of the Chicago Tribune and the Daily Herald to endorse Tammy Duckworth. Ms. Duckworth has always been the preferred candidate of the elite Chicago liberal media. The day I care what the Chicago media thinks about me or this race will be the same day that I leave the political arena. I am running for Congress to serve the people of the 8th district, who are struggling to find work, stay in their homes, and are fighting to make sure that their kids and grandkids have the same opportunities that they did.

“For years, the Chicago media has been out of touch with families like those in the 8th district. It is no surprise that these papers lose readership almost every single year and have essentially become irrelevant and bankrupt. It is because the elite media does not understand that American families are fed up. They are sick of the same old politicians making promises to get endorsements. As the Tribune said of my opponent, she is a ‘more-practiced politician. Practiced, that is, in not offering her opposition targets by getting to specific on solutions.’ I can not and will not go down that same road.

“We are at a crucial point in America, and this country needs leaders who will stand up and say no to Washington’s back room go along to get along deals. Now more than ever we must move past the talking points and come up with real solutions. The elite Chicago media will never understand that, but the American people do. Let us remember that if the good people of Illinois cared about what these irrelevant papers had to say, Tammy Duckworth would now be serving her third term in Congress, as both the Herald and Tribune enthusiastically endorsed her 6 years ago, against Peter Roskam.”

…Adding… A commenter sums it up well…

If he truly did not care about getting the newspapers’ endorsements then he would not have bothered to sit down with them for the endorsement interviews.

His press release is little more than the response of a petulant child who did not get what he wanted.

Agreed.

* Meanwhile, the Sun-Times has reported this…

We Ask America poll had Walsh at a five-point lead.

Um, no. Not even close. The latest We Ask America poll, taken last week, had Duckworth ahead by six.

The DCCC has Duckworth up by ten…

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released a new automated poll showing Tammy Duckworth with a 10 point lead, winning 52 percent over Congressman Joe Walsh’s 42 percent – dangerous territory for an incumbent. Congressman Joe Walsh’s favorables are underwater with nearly half of voters holding a negative opinion of him. In contrast, Tammy Duckworth is both well known and well liked with a definite advantage in this Democratic leaning district.

“The problem Congressman Joe Walsh faces is that voters both know him and dislike him,” said Haley Morris of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “While Illinois families have had enough of Congressman Walsh’s dangerous uncompromising Tea Party record in Washington, they clearly favor Tammy Duckworth as the only candidate standing up for the middle class.”

* Related…

* Truth check: Is Duckworth violating uniform rules?: Department of Defense rules state that members of the military “not on active duty (including retired members) may use photos of themselves in uniform for ‘campaign media’ purposes.” However, “the photo or information must be accompanied by a prominent and clearly displayed disclaimer that neither the military information nor photographs imply endorsement by the Department of Defense or their particular military department.”

* Walsh, Duckworth clash on immigration

* VIDEO: Tammy Duckworth Declines to Debate Joe Walsh