NY Times also duped by Ken Lay/Lincoln Bedroom myth

An astute reader has pointed out that the New York Times also printed the falsehood that Ken Lay stayed overnight at the Clinton White House, adding one of the country's leading newspapers to the list of those duped by the claim.

Alison Mitchell's February 1 article, which focuses on an ad criticizing North Carolina Senate candidate Elizabeth Dole for attending a fundraiser held by Enron CEO Ken Lay, concludes with the following paragraph:

Enron was a major donor to the Democratic National Committee in the Clinton years. Mr. Lay played golf with Mr. Clinton and stayed overnight in the White House.
The clear implication is that Lay stayed at the White House during the Clinton administration, when in fact his overnight stay came under George H.W. Bush.

Although the Washington Times and Chicago Tribune (among others) have been forced to issue highly publicized retractions of this claim in recent weeks, Mitchell said in a phone call today that this was the first she had heard of the issue and that she would look into it further. Hopefully a correction will be forthcoming soon.