Is the NY Times serious about the Edwards scandal?

Via Just One Minute, the NYT offers their explanation of why the MSM was fast asleep for months:

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When The Enquirer first reported the affair, a group of Edwards associates, including from past campaigns, assembled at his headquarters to try to stop the story from moving from the tabloid into major newspapers. They declined to respond to questions or issue any statements that might produce news reports, according to those involved in the effort. It was led by Jennifer Palmieri, a longtime associate of both Mr. and Mrs. Edwards. At the time, two of Mr. Edwards’s associates said, some of his aides did not believe the reports, but others were suspicious.

But by this summer, the team had shrunk. Ms. Palmieri managed the crisis again, working mainly with Mrs. Edwards and Harrison Hickman, Mr. Edwards’s longtime pollster. Initially Mr. Edwards argued that he could ride out the latest report, but several associates said that if the reports were not true, he should denounce them.

Mr. Edwards said in his statement Friday that he had denounced the tabloid reports earlier because most of the details were not true. “But,” he added, “being 99 percent honest is no longer enough.”

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Who could make this stuff up?

"We didn't investigate this credible story for months. That is, until, all of a sudden, it became front page news, because...

... uh, because the Edwards campaign mounted a determined public-relations effort to keep the lid on a story that made their candidate look bad.

Brilliant! Who knew that a P.R. campaign would more than suffice to shut down all the major news outlets?