The Schmidt Hits The Fan. Again.

McCain campaign strategist Steve Schmidt once again empties both barrels on the liberal media. This time he takes aim at the left-wing New York Times. Schmidt was responding to a NYT article attempting to link John McCain to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while completely ignoring the huge amount of money donated to Obama by the leadership of these organizations.

Let me first say we are First Amendment absolutists on this campaign. The press and anybody who wishes to cover this race from a blogosphere perspective or from a media perspective is of course constitutionally protected with regard to writing whatever they want to write.

But let's be clear and be honest with each other about something fundamental to this race, which is this: Whatever the New York Times once was, it is today not by any standard a journalistic organization.

It is a pro-Obama advocacy organization that every day attacks the McCain campaign, attacks Sen. McCain, attacks Gov. Palin, and excuses Sen. Obama.

There is no level of public vetting with regard to Sen. Obama's record, his background, his past statements. There is no level of outrage directed at his deceitful ads.

This is an organization that is completely, totally, 150 percent in the tank for the Democratic candidate, which is their prerogative to be, but let's not be dishonest and call it something other than what it is.

Everything that is read in the New York Times that attacks this campaign should be evaluated by the American people from that perspective, that it is an organization that has made a decision to cast aside its journalistic integrity and tradition to advocate for the defeat of one candidate, in this case John McCain, and advocate for the election of the other candidate, Barack Obama.

While this was a straightforward rebuke, I doubt it will have much effect on the NYT. They believe they are above reproach and have no cause to be maligned by anyone, much less a Republican.