Josh Benson's Sunday article for the New York Times on the suddenly-close race for New Jersey governor between Democratic Sen. Jon Corzine and Republican candidate Doug Forrester discusses the outside political celebrities each campaign is calling in: Karl Rove and Dick Cheney on the Republican side, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama for the Democrats.

But while Rove and Cheney are labeled as "two distinctively conservative and polarizing figures," neither Clinton or Obama are labeled as polarizing or even liberal, but instead are "two of Mr. Corzine's more celebrated colleagues." (Moderate Republican and liberal media favorite Sen. John McCain, who will campaign for Forrester next week, is "iconic.")

Hillary Clinton is probably no less polarizing among Republicans then Rove and Cheney are among Democrats. However, when opposition to Hillary Clinton is mentioned in the Times, she's not seen as "polarizing." Instead, her critics are described as haters. That's how reporters Raymond Hernandez and Michael Cooper treated them in an October 15 story on Sen. Clinton's Senate race: "[Sen. Hillary] Clinton still inspires great antipathy among conservative Republicans, who have seen the 2006 Senate race in New York as an opportunity to damage her politically in advance of her possible presidential bid in 2008."

For more NYT bias, visit TimesWatch.