Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney gives a foreign policy speech at Virginia Military Institute, Monday, Oct. 8, 2012, in Lexington, Va. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The Tennessean newspaper in Nashville has broken with its tradition of backing Democratic candidates for president and given its endorsement to Republican Mitt Romney.

An editorial published Thursday expressed disappointment with the campaign tone set by Romney and President Barack Obama and the lack of clarity on what either would do if elected.

It faulted Romney for straying from the positions he held as governor of Massachusetts and Obama for pursuing health care reform instead of the economy.

The editorial urged Romney, "Be the man who governed Massachusetts, and you'll reunite America."

The newspaper's editorial page leans left and usually endorses Democrats. The paper backed Obama in 2008, and the Democrat won in Nashville. But John McCain won Tennessee by a landslide with 57 percent of the vote.