It's a mistake to think of the NYT as a monolithic entity that deliberately leans one way or another. I've got a few friends who work there, and they all report that "the" Times is actually about five distinct fiefdoms engaged in a constant battle with one another. It's a real shark tank, politically speaking, and not the kind of place with the sort of absolutist, top-down structure (like, say, Bloomberg) that's conducive to straight party lines.

That said, it was a bullshit link-bait headline buy hey, traffic, right?