Clay Waters

Clay Waters is director of Times Watch, a division of the Media Research Center (MRC) that tracks the liberal bias of the New York Times. You can follow Times Watch on Twitter and Facebook.

Author Articles

"Fahrenheit 9-11" a "Most Essential Political Film"

Manohla Dargis: A new movie is "the most essential political film from an American director since Michael Moore's 'Fahrenheit 9/11.'"

Another Day, Another Western Democratic Senator with Humble Roots to Fawn Over

"Harry Mason Reid is the product of the tiny desert town of Searchlight, Nev., whose father, a hard-rock miner, battled alcoholism and depression before killing himself at 58. The future senator ...

Keeping John Bolton at UN = Broken Promise By Bush

Helene Cooper: "The question now is whether Mr. Bush is ready to junk all of his make-nice pledges in order to keep John R. Bolton at the United Nations."

Montana's Daily-Kos Democrat As A "Prairie Pragmatist"

Timothy Egan: "...the senator-elect from Montana truly is your grandfather's Democrat - a pro-gun, anti-big-business prairie pragmatist whose life is defined by the treeless patch of hard Montana ...

Frank Rich on "Callous Conservatism" and Racist Republicans

Frank Rich: "[Virginia Sen. George] Allen has a history of racial insensitivity. He used to display a Confederate flag in his living room and, bizarrely enough, a noose in his office for ...

Overdosing Again on the Conservative Label

40 ideological labels in a 1,650-word story.

"Populism" Trumps "Liberalism" in Times' Labeling Battle

Government-run health care isn't left-wing or liberal but merely an example of "economic populism."

Calling Pelosi, Rangel, and Conyers Liberal an "Incendiary" Accusation

Fresh after suggesting racism was to blame for Harold Ford Jr.'s loss in his Tennessee Senate race, hypersensitive reporter Adam Nossiter chides GOP for calling liberal Democrats liberal.

MacFarquhar Defends Controversial New Congressman from "Muslim-Bashers"

MacFarquhar dismisses Keith Ellison's past ties to the Nation of Islam and the anti-Semite Lewis Farrakhan, says Ellison is being "attacked on religious grounds."

White Racism Cost Ford His Senate Seat?

Plus, Bashing Blogs that Criticize the Times, Paul Krugman's Pre-Election Paranoia, and Karl Rove as a Cancer

Times Hints Racism a Factor in Harold Ford's Failure

Adam Nossiter: "The crowd in the room packed with Corker supporters told its own story: It was almost entirely white." And Nossiter back in 2001 said of Southerners who "revere the Confederacy": ...

Election Over, the Times Finds Some Liberals in Congress

Just in time not to scare away Democratic voters: "In the House, Democratic unity could also be tested in relations between the new committee chairmen - many of whom are liberal veterans who ...

Democrats Now Have a "Mandate" - But 1994 GOP Didn't?

Adam Nagourney: "The Democratic Party can clearly claim a mandate."

Nancy Pelosi, Victim of Conservative "Caricature"

And another appearance by "conservative" anti-war hero Rep. John Murtha.

Stick a Fork in Him, Bush Is Done

Mark Leibovich on Bush's news conference: "Yet for someone whose presidency had just been repudiated...."

"Unyielding" Bush Must Reach Beyond "Conservative Base" (and Fire Rumsfeld?)

Robin Toner sees a "more conciliatory" Bush in the offing.

Adam Nagourney Backs off Some More

After writing off GOP prospects on Sunday, Nagourney writes on Election Day morning: "[Democratic] expectations may well be overheated."

Why the Times Didn't Endorse a Single Republican Candidate This Year

"For us, the breaking point came over the Republicans' attempt to undermine the fundamental checks and balances that have safeguarded American democracy since its inception."

Bush: Six Years "Ignoring Democrats" While Pressing GOP "To Do His Bidding"

"If the balance of political power in Washington changes on Tuesday, will President Bush change with it?" The Times fears not.

GOP: Left for Dead on Sunday, Spark of Life on Monday

What a difference a couple of favorable Republican polls make in the Times' coverage