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Richard Stevenson

• November 22 -- Rumsfeld: Better Than Those Neo-Cons
The Times comes up with some half-hearted praise for Rumsfeld, at least compared to those "neocons."

• November 17 -- Condoleezza Rice, "Hard-Line Hawk"
The Times emphasizes Condoleezza Rice's "hard-line" and "hawkish" views.

• November 11 -- No Lingering “Glow” Once the “Civil Rights Groups” Start Hammering
In the forthcoming confirmation hearings for Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales, the Times has found two sides. On one side are “conservatives” who find Gonzales is not “sufficiently hardline.” On the other are “Democrats” and “civil rights groups” who worry about the new pick’s tolerance for prison abuse.

• November 5 -- Bush Wins Big, But Faces Pressure from Christians
Richard Stevenson notes Bush's "decisive win" but wonders if he can withstand "pressure" from the evangelical Christians who helped him win reelection.

• November 4 -- "Blunt" Cheney Claims Mandate for Bush
Richard Stevenson doesn't see much of a second-term honeymoon for the president and seems to question how a "blunt" Cheney could take cheer from an "often vituperative" campaign.

• November 4 -- Beware Bush's Supreme Court Nominees
The Times talks of "strict conservative" nominees to the Supreme Court.

• November 1 -- Bush's "Façade" vs. "Relaxed, Playful" Kerry
The Times on Bush's campaign style: "Any crack in the façade could be fatal at the polls." The Times is more affectionate with Kerry: "Relaxed, playful and workmanlike, and hopelessly superstitious."

• October 27 -- The NYT's "Base" Instincts
In the homestretch, "Conservative Base" Leads "Liberal Base" 18-2.

• October 26 -- Polarizing Bush, Secretive Cheney
George W. Bush: "On issues, Mr. Bush reaches out sparingly." 
Dick Cheney: "Democrats argue that Mr. Cheney is one of the most divisive figures in American politics."

• October 8 -- Bushonomics: Ambitious, Divisive, or a "Hoax"?
Richard Stevenson on Bush's economic philosophy: "His assertion that reducing the top income-tax rate is primarily an effort to help small businesses has been challenged by many economists, who say the White House has exaggerated how much tax reductions in the top bracket flow to small-business owners. 'You can fairly say this is a political hoax,' said [anti-Bush author] Kevin Phillips."

• October 8 -- "Bush Pushes Limits on the Facts" on Trail
Only Republicans push the limits of truth, according to Adam Nagourney and Richard Stevenson's "In His New Attacks, Bush Pushes Limits on the Facts," featuring a cameo by liberal bogeyman Lee Atwater.

• October 7 -- Bush "Out of Touch" With Iraq Realities?
Piling on Bush's debate performance and setting up Democratic talking points.

• October 6 -- "Cheney on the Defensive"
Today's Times hammers home the idea that John Edwards more than held his own with Dick Cheney: "Mr. Edwards appeared to hold his own in the remarkably intense thrust and parry of the evening, at times putting Mr. Cheney on the defensive."

• October 4 -- Swing Voters "Liking What They See" In Kerry
The Times stresses optimism in the Kerry camp and worries among Bush partisans: "If Ms. Curtis and a few other previously undecided Ohioans who came to Mr. Kerry's town-hall meeting here and some new polls are any indication, swing voters are giving Mr. Kerry a second look after his strong showing in the first presidential debate. And they are liking what they see."

• September 17 -- Bad Labeling Habits on the Trail
Richard Stevenson and Robin Toner indulge in some unhealthy labeling bias while on the campaign trail with Bush.

• September 7 -- "Questioning Kerry's Patriotism," Again
David Halbfinger claims Kerry's patriotism was questioned at the Republican convention: "But he returned to the offensive after his character, voting history and even his patriotism were questioned by Republicans in New York this week, and after Democrats faulted him for a hesitant, halting response last month to televised attacks on his military record." Halbfinger also dashes cold water on polls showing Bush with a substantial lead.

• September 7 -- "Polls on the Move"? More Like: "Clear Lead for Bush"
Bush and Kerry campaigned in Ohio after the Republican convention, leading David Halbfinger and Richard Stevenson to file "With Polls on the Move, Bush and Kerry Take Their Economic Message to Ohio." More accurate would be: "Polls Show Clear Lead for Bush as Candidates Take Their Economic Message to Ohio."

• August 9 -- Still Harping on Bush's Terror-Warning Timing
Two stories focus on the timing of the latest terror alerts. David Johnston and Richard Stevenson insist: "Among many of the administration's critics and even, to a more limited degree, among some of its allies, Mr. Ridge's performance was seen as fueling disbelief and cynicism," while Eric Lichtblau and Eric Lipton say: "Terrorism experts said the Bush administration may have also hurt its own cause and inspired public skepticism this week in how it alerted the public to the possible attacks."

• August 4 -- Bush Playing Politics With Terror?, Part I
A lead editorial obnoxiously suggests Bush is playing political games with terror warnings: "….it's unfortunate that it is necessary to fight suspicions of political timing, suspicions the administration has sown by misleading the public on security." But a front-page report today, armed with more facts, takes a more sober view of the terror threat.

• July 26 -- Sandy Berger, Terror Fighter
More pro-Sandy Berger spin from the Times: "[The 9/11 report] describes how Mr. Berger took the lead in December 1999 in mobilizing the F.B.I. and other domestic agencies to address the so-called millennium plot, in which attacks planned in Jordan and Los Angeles were disrupted." Or was it just plain old luck?

• July 21 -- Bush Campaign on Defensive (Just Ignore What I Wrote Yesterday)
Adam Nagourney and Richard Stevenson write on Bush's "hard-edged" campaign, suggesting he's "had to campaign in solidly Republican areas, and to stress conservative issues, to maintain the enthusiasm of his base. In contrast, Mr. Kerry appears so confident of support from his base…" But Nagourney's own reporting suggests differently.

• July 19 -- Failing to Own Up to Joe Wilson's Credibility Collapse
When will the NYT admit its favorite anti-war horse has come up lame?

• July 7 -- Media Heroine for Interrupting the President
Richard Stevenson fawns over an Irish reporter granted an interview with President Bush which turned testy, and wonders whether American reporters are too soft on Bush.

• July 7 -- Edwards' Liberalism Goes Unmentioned…
The National Journal rated Kerry's VP pick John Edwards the fourth-most liberal senator in 2003. Yet the Times fails to label Edwards as liberal. Things were just a bit different when Bush picked Dick Cheney in 2000.

• June 30 -- Who's the Most Polarizing Republican of All?
David Johnson and Richard Stevenson file a story on "polarizing" Attorney General John Ashcroft, days after Stevenson relayed criticisms that Dick Cheney was "among the most polarizing figures in politics."

• June 21 -- More Misleading on Iraq-Al Qaeda Ties
Times reporter Tom Zeller challenges liberal conventional wisdom on the idea that the 9/11 report contradicts Bush and Cheney's claims about ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda. Will his colleagues ever do the same?

• June 17 -- Hitting Bush's "Spotty Scorecard" on Iraq Invasion
Richard Stevenson sees trouble for Bush from the 9-11 report: "In questioning the extent of any ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda, the commission weakened the already spotty scorecard on Mr. Bush's justifications for sending the military to topple Saddam Hussein."

• May 27 -- Bush's Response to Terror Threats: Either Passive Or Politicized
First the Times jumps on Bush for not acting on vague terrorist threats in a daily briefing he received a month before 9-11. Yet when John Ashcroft speaks out about a new Al Qaeda threat, they question the political timing in the headline and story.

• May 25 -- Does Bush Get Iraq?
In Richard Stevenson's bleak analysis of Bush's Monday night speech on Iraq, he hints Bush still doesn't understand how "violence and chaos" is threatening to engulf the country

• May 18 -- "Civil Rights Leader" Jesse Jackson
Adam Nagourney and Richard Stevenson, in Topeka for the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education, call left-wing activist Jesse Jackson a "civil rights leader."

• April 29 -- Manipulating the “Sharp” Decline
The Times led the paper Thursday with bad news for President Bush: “Support for War Down Sharply,” from 63 percent saying the war was the “right thing” in December to 58 percent in March to 47 percent in April. But they downplayed that December’s poll numbers were instantly taken after the capture of Saddam Hussein, so the numbers might logically fall “sharply” from that summit.

• April 28 -- Bush Lacks “Visionary” Agenda?
Times reporter Richard Stevenson looked right past the elephant in the room and insisted that Bush’s campaign for a second term, he is “forgoing a visionary agenda.” So, taking the risk of liberating tens of millions of people in Afghanistan and Iraq in the war on terror isn’t bold enough?

• April 14 -- Why Won't Bush Apologize for 9/11?
At Bush's press conference Elisabeth Bumiller demanded: "Do you feel any sense of personal responsibility for September 11th?"

• March 26 -- Clarke's Book a Must-Read, Say D.C. Lefties
It's still all Clarke at the Times, with two front-page stories. Rachel Swarns finds unlabeled leftists to chatter about Clarke's must-read book, while a news story concludes: "With the economy faltering and Democrats so united, Mr. Bush's terrorism credentials are portrayed by his supporters as the strongest assets he has going against Mr. Kerry. The revelations--in particular, the account offered by Mr. Clarke--could give Mr. Kerry ammunition to attack Mr. Bush on foreign policy." And the Times is pitching in.

• March 17 -- "Greater Scrutiny" of Bush After Madrid, From….?
Nagourney teams up with Richard Stevenson for a lead story placing the Bush campaign on war footing, with a subhed claiming: "President's Foreign Policy Faces Greater Scrutiny After Madrid Attack." Yet the actual article hardly mentions Spain.

• January 21 -- Terrorism? What Terrorism?
Elisabeth Bumiller and Richard Stevenson offer this odd spin on Bush's State of the Union: "Mr. Bush offered no specific evidence to back up his more general and much less disputed statement that 'terrorists continue to plot against America and the civilized world.'"

• January 6 -- Balanced Campaign Coverage? Times Batting 0-for-'04
Two sets of headlines offer an ominous preview of the presidential campaign. On the left: "Clark and Kerry Offering Plans to Help Middle Class….Gearing proposals to appeal to everyday Americans." On the right: "Bush Pushes Education as Election Year Opens….Defending Programs that Democrats say he underfinanced."

• December 18 -- The Times Misfires (Again) on Bush's "Imminent Threat"
The Times puts one of its favorite anti-war myths back in circulation in Richard Stevenson's snidely titled "Remember 'Weapons of Mass Destruction'? For Bush, They Are a Nonissue."

• November 6 -- The Republican's He-Man Woman Haters Club
Richard Stevenson on Bush's signing of the partial-birth abortion ban emphasizes: "Before calling onto the stage with him the bill's main Congressional supporters, all men…"

• September 23 -- Backhanded Bush Compliment: He’s Now Less Misleading
Richard Stevenson gives out backhanded compliments for what he calls the Bush administration’s recent “increase in straight talk.” Stevenson writes: “By the standards of a White House that insists that nearly everything at all times is proceeding precisely according to plan, and where misjudgment is typically held to be a stranger, the last few weeks have brought a new, unvarnished tone.”

• August 20 -- Times Lets Dems Exploit Grief of Baghdad
Richard Stevenson lets two Democratic candidates take unopposed potshots at Bush over the Baghdad bombing.