Not to play up the Jewish angle, but I have heard more than one liberal NYer describe the NYT, especially the Sunday edition, as their 'Bible.'
Scary/ironic in more ways than one, but among the scariest thought is that there are people out there who think every word printed in the NYT is absolute truth.
One thing that should become standard-operating-proceedure for any Republican pol/pundit is to ridicule reporting from the NYSlimes when used in an argument against them. The paper is nothing more than a talking-points update for the radical left. Russert, Matthews & Schieffer do this all the time... and it makes me 'wanna puke!
Same here. Most liberals would be completely lost if they didn't have the Times to tell them what to think and feel. All you have to do is scan the morning's editorial page to know what liberals will be saying that day. And it's all treated as gospel.