THE NEWSPAPER OF RECORD IS AT IT AGAIN – AT 8:46 A.M. ET:  Well, they used to call The New York Times the newspaper of record.  Their idea of "the record" today, though, may seem a bit odd to many of us who once labored there. 

I ask this question:  Why is it that whenever a Republican comes to the fore as a potential presidential candidate, The Times is always ready with a hit piece?  Rick Perry has been the subject of a number of weak pieces clearly designed to discredit him.  (The idea of another Texas governor as president brings intense chills and violent shaking to the editors of The Times, who regard Texas as a foreign country where cows drive cars.)  Now that Chris Christie is in the spotlight the once newspaper of record responds in its usual manner...a hit piece out this morning: 

They are rich. They are unattached. They are looking for a little excitement.

You immediately see where this is going.

Meet the Draft Christie committee, a small but influential group of Republican-leaning donors and activists, many based in New York, united by a shared desire to see Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey run for president.

There is Kenneth G. Langone, the billionaire Home Depot founder who is perhaps Mr. Christie’s most fervent booster; Paul E. Singer, the publicity-shy hedge fund magnate and Republican activist who is among the most-sought-after Republican donors in the country; and David H. Koch, the industrialist, Tea Party benefactor and, according to Forbes, the richest man in New York.

Charles R. Schwab, the personal investment guru, is also among those who have shown interest in seeing a Christie presidential bid, according to published reports and people familiar with the discussions, as is the financier Stanley F. Druckenmiller. So are the hedge fund managers David Tepper and Daniel S. Loeb, a onetime supporter of President Obama.

In recent months, Christie enthusiasts have lighted up the phone lines between Manhattan and Trenton trying to persuade the governor to enter the Republican field amid growing concern about the current contenders.

Several dozen potential Christie backers attended a meeting in July convened by Mr. Langone to introduce the governor to top-shelf Republican donors, many of them on the sidelines so far in the 2012 campaign. Others saw him in action in June, when Mr. Christie quietly flew to Colorado to speak at a private retreat hosted by Mr. Koch and his brother, Charles, another prominent Republican donor.

COMMENT:  Translated:  Christie is a creature of Wall Street and the moneyed interests.  He's not his own man.  Now, it's appropriate for a newspaper to look into the financial backing of any candidate, but the timing of this piece, and the lack of any real scrutiny of Obama during the 2008 campaign, demonstrate journalistic hypocrisy and opportunism. 

A full picture of Christie will reveal pluses and minuses.  I am not waiting for The Times to provide that portrait.

September 27, 2011