"All procedural arguments are insincere, including this one," Michael Barone has observed. The perennial debate over the Senate filibuster is the archetype for this observation, and the pathologically insincere New York Times editorial page--remember when its editor denied having endorsed John McCain in the 2008 presidential primary?--is the perfect example.

Yesterday senators reached an agreement in which Majority Leader Harry Reid stood down from his threat to invoke the "nuclear option" and abolish the...