Editor-in-chief Lipsky said that the paper's prominent op-ed page would champion "limited government, individual liberty, constitutional fundamentals, equality under the law, economic growth ... standards in literature and culture, education". Another goal, said Lipsky, was "to seize the local beat from which "The New York Times" was retreating as it sought to become a national newspaper". Stoll characterized "The Sun"'s political orientation as "right-of-center", and an associate of Conrad Black predicted in 2002 that the paper would be neoconservative in its outlook. Unsigned editorials in the paper advocated prosecuting Iraq War protestors for treason (2003), nominating Dick Cheney for the presidency (2007), and lowering, rather than raising, the debt ceiling in response to the debt ceiling crisis (2013).