John Edwards, Man Without a Party

A Democratic senator who was the target of a death threat was readily identified as a Democrat - but disgraced former Democratic senator and presidential candidate John Edwards was simply...John Edwards.

Sometimes Times bias is subtle. The deck of teaser headlines below were attached to stories featured on the Times' political blog early Wednesday afternoon, and caught my attention both for what was included and what was left out.

Notice that the teaser to a sympathetic story about Democratic senator Patty Murray (she received a death threat) included her party identification. Yet the teaser to an unflattering story about the mistress of the disgraced former senator, Democratic vice presidential choice, and 2008 presidential candidate John Edwards was missing a party identification.

In addition, a story on Republican Sen. Tom Coburn criticizing Fox News emphasizes Coburn's G.O.P. credentials.