Schmidt attacks the Times

John McCain's chief strategist, Steve Schmidt, harshly attacked the New York Times in a conference call today, after the Times reported that McCain's campaign manager had worked, indirectly, for the mortgage giant Fannie Mae.

"Whatever the New York Times once was, it is today, not by any standard a journalistic organization. It is a pro-Obama advocacy organization that every day attacks the McCain Campaign, attacks Senator McCain, attacks Governor Palin, and excuses Senator Obama," said Schmidt.

The campaign manager, Rick Davis, responded more directly to the charge, saying McCain had opposed Fannie Mae even as he worked for a coalition that included the corporation.

Schmidt, who has been forced to steadily raise the volume on attention-getting ads and statements like this one, as they become daily fodder, called the Times "completely, totally, 150 percent in the tank for the Democratic candidate."

Schmidt took as his example of a "compliant" media the lack fo reporting on Joe Biden's son's work as a lobbyist.

"His son is a lobbyist for the credit card and banking industry," he said. "The Obama campaign is surrounded by people who have worked in the lobbying industry."

Biden's son said he was leaving the lobbying business earlier this month. (Here's the Times's story on it.)

Schmidt, whose campaign just weeks ago bragged of ignoring the media and the nonpartisan fact-checkers, called for "a restoration of symmetry" in the coverage of the race.