Is there an agenda at the New York Times cultural page? A forthcoming book, its premises and the methodology behind it, has been widely criticized yet the Times gives it some rare space on its cultural page.

For instance, Larry Kramer—an often bombastic gay rights advocate and a mythologizer himself (he is a playwright)—applauds this dubious "finding" and commends the author for embarrassing the Republican Party (since Lincoln was a Republican—despite the fact that the Republican party then was a different party than it is now). Another writer, Philip Nobile, who worked with the author of this book, but left after a dispute, calls it a fraud.

There is a trend among some historians to cast historical figures as being gay—Alexander the Great was just among the most recent figures so featured. Surprised that the Times would give such free publicity  to such a book, despite it being widely criticized? Don't be. When Howell Raines came on board to head up the New York Times one of his missions was to radically change the cultural section of the paper, according to Hard News, the new book about the New York Times by Seth Mnookin. His legacy continues despite his departure.

Ed Lasky   12 16 04