It's really of no importance - my endorsement of a candidate for president has as much weight as the Washington Post's (none), but nonetheless I find the notion that the Washington Post could give a "tepid" endorsement of Kerry rather amusing.
One of the Ralph&Media memes of the '00 campaign was that there was little difference between the candidates. Granting whatever legitimacy possible to that opinion, I'd like to point out that it's pretty clear that small differences between the presidents lead to incredibly huge differences in the direction this country takes.
Some of the pereception of the lack of difference between candidates is based on the general run-to-the-center during the general election. And, some is based on general media lazyness. But, even to the extent that the gap between the two candidates isn't large -- for a variety of reasons, a tiny gap between candidates will result in a giant gap between presidencies. Once anyone makes their choice, the notion of a "tepid" endorsement is laughable. Pick your guy, and fight for him.
