Jonathan Schwarz:

New York Times strategy of cowering and begging for mercy continues to bear fruit

Now seems like a good time to remember this section from Hard News by Seth Mnookin:

[A]ccording to half a dozen sources within the Times, Raines wanted to prove once and for all that he wasn’t editing the paper in a way that betrayed his liberal beliefs… “My sense was that Howell Raines was eager to have articles that supported the warmongering out of Washington,” former investigative editor Doug Frantz wrote in an email…Frantz, who personally edited some of [Judith] Miller’s stories, went on to write, “He discouraged pieces that were at odds with the administration’s position on Iraq’s supposed weapons of mass destruction and alleged links of Al Qaeda.”

Let’s see. How’s that working out for them?

The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee…said he will write Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, urging that the nation’s chief law enforcer “begin an investigation and prosecution of the New York Times — the reporters, the editors and the publisher.” “We’re at war, and for the Times to release information about secret operations and methods is treasonous,” King said.

I think the lesson here is clear: the NY Times still hasn’t proven, ONCE AND FOR ALL, that they’re not dirty liberals. But once they do, America’s right will surely leave them alone. That’s because America’s right is all about honest, fair-minded criticism.