New York Times Attacks John McCain

By endorsing him:

We have strong disagreements with all the Republicans running for president. The leading candidates have no plan for getting American troops out of Iraq. They are too wedded to discredited economic theories and unwilling even now to break with the legacy of President Bush. We disagree with them strongly on what makes a good Supreme Court justice.

Still, there is a choice to be made, and it is an easy one. Senator John McCain of Arizona is the only Republican who promises to end the George Bush style of governing from and on behalf of a small, angry fringe. With a record of working across the aisle to develop sound bipartisan legislation, he would offer a choice to a broader range of Americans than the rest of the Republican field.

Surely the NYT's editorial board realizes that, as an alleged news organization that has actively sought defeat for America in the War on Terror, their thumbs up has almost the same degree of negative impact as would endorsements by the Ku Klux Klan or the Benedict Arnold Society.

So, does this mean they really do like McCain, or do they see him as the strongest competition for their own party, the Democrats, and hope to destroy his campaign?