New York Times’ Presidential Endorsements: Arrogance of ‘Philosopher Kings’

The New York Times turned their endorsement into a reality-TV show. The Times’ editorial board — a group of opinion-havers — hijacked The Weekly (the paper’s FX news show, based on the work of Times reporters) to show you their process of interviewing Democratic candidates and to give the paper’s institutional endorsement to one of the candidates ahead of the Iowa caucuses. A deputy editor explained that the news division gathers facts but that the editorial board is composed of people who take those facts and “describe the world as it should be.” Literally, philosopher kings.

I had no doubt whatsoever that Elizabeth Warren would get the New York Times’ endorsement. An endorsement, I should add, that may have no worth whatsoever. Hillary Clinton received it in 2008 just as Barack Obama was about to beat her in Iowa. But, through the human power of stereotyping, I knew that Elizabeth Warren would get it. Elizabeth Warren and the Times simply belong together. The age of social media is an age that teaches us to become great at rough-and-ready categorization. And Elizabeth Warren is the candidate of elite college professors and the highest wage earners in the liberal professional classes — the clerisy of our age. Of course she is the candidate of Times readers and workers.

About the Author

Michael Brendan Dougherty

Michael Brendan Dougherty is a senior writer at National Review Online.

Featured Tags

The New York Times turned their endorsement into a reality-TV show. The Times’ editorial board — a group of opinion-havers — hijacked The Weekly (the paper’s FX news show, based on the work of Times reporters) to show you their process of interviewing Democratic candidates and to give the paper’s institutional endorsement to one of the candidates ahead of the Iowa caucuses. A deputy editor explained that the news division gathers facts but that the editorial board is composed of people who take those facts and “describe the world as it should be.” Literally, philosopher kings.

I had no doubt whatsoever that Elizabeth Warren would get the New York Times’ endorsement. An endorsement, I should add, that may have no worth whatsoever. Hillary Clinton received it in 2008 just as Barack Obama was about to beat her in Iowa. But, through the human power of stereotyping, I knew that Elizabeth Warren would get it. Elizabeth Warren and the Times simply belong together. The age of social media is an age that teaches us to become great at rough-and-ready categorization. And Elizabeth Warren is the candidate of elite college professors and the highest wage earners in the liberal professional classes — the clerisy of our age. Of course she is the candidate of Times readers and workers.