The Presidency, as Teddy Roosevelt said, may be a "Bully Pulpit," but it pales in comparison to the editorial opinion of the leftist NY Times. The President can't make daily speeches to make his case against the allegedly harmful release of sensitive information, while the Times can rant and squeal to its heart's content.
What this all boils down to, IMO, is not whether the information was known to some insiders, or whether it is illegal to print, or even whether it was classified or not. The real issue is that the administration asked them not to publish the complete story; not for political reasons, but for reasons of national security. The fact that the Times chose to disregard those pleas is indicative of the fact that the Times cares more about harming the administration, and thus the war effort, than it does about this nation's security.
When some hoity-toity liberal newspaper decides it knows best about issues of security, to the disadvantage of those trying to maintain security, I think that is the time to come down hard on those running that newspaper. |
