Ombudsman Daniel Okrent of The New York Times may have caused some conservatives to spill their morning coffee all over the Old Gray Lady last Sunday when he wrote very critically of the Times' coverage of issues such as "gay rights, gun control, abortion, and environmental regulation": "If you think the Times plays it down the middle on any of them, you've been reading the paper with your eyes closed." Okrent cited as one example the Times' coverage of the same-sex marriage issue, which he said "approaches cheerleading."