Even though the New York Times is in financial straits, its editors are in a statist nirvana. The state is growing and will continue to grow, and what can be better than that?

Today, Nicholas Kristof defines “greatness” in presidents: expand government like FDR did:

Not surprisingly, Mrs. Morse (whose daughter died of cancer) fervently hopes that Mr. Obama will be able to move the country toward a national health care system. If he can lead us there, even gradually, he has a chance to join the pantheon of truly great presidents like F.D.R. himself.

The column was all about government medical care, and how wonderful it is. Granted, the present system is a creation of the price controls of World War II, but Kristof fails to understand the evils of price controls.

(That is par for the course at the NYT, which truly believes that the U.S.S.R. worked an economic miracle. The newspaper still proudly displays the photo of Walter Duranty in the lobby of the building it recently built — after getting the government to kick out private owners of the property where the new building was to be built and paying them a pittance.)

Not to be outdone, the editorial writers condemn the Republican governors who are refusing “stimulus” money and give us Ahnuld of California as the True Example of Great Fiscal Leadership. Yes, it seems to the editors that some of the governors are beholden to — get this — “ideology.” Yeah, right.

On the front page, which really is nothing more than an extension of the editorial opinion page, we see excitement as the Obama government is wanting new draconian controls on production to “fight climate change.” We see praise for leftist lobbying to create a socialist monopoly in medical care (apparently government is not doing enough to ruin the system), and a feature on the “utopia” of organic farming.

Yes, it always is nice to see how wealthy leftists are wanting to create that wonderful future for the rest of us. However, they will make sure that they don’t have to live in it, as the rules will not apply to them. All in all, another wonderful day of state worship at the NYT.