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October 22, 2006

George Bush Made Me Do It

Even thought it WAS legal...and NO ONE's personal data was compromised...and maybe terrorists really DIDN'T already know about it...I was just so durned mad at the mean way Bush and his guys talk about my newspaper. So in an emotional, proactive, "gotcha" fit of pique, I printed it anyway. 'Cause I can.

Since the job of public editor requires me to probe and question the published work and wisdom of Times journalists, there’s a special responsibility for me to acknowledge my own flawed assessments.

My July 2 column strongly supported The Times’s decision to publish its June 23 article on a once-secret banking-data surveillance program. After pondering for several months, I have decided I was off base. There were reasons to publish the controversial article, but they were slightly outweighed by two factors to which I gave too little emphasis. While it’s a close call now, as it was then, I don’t think the article should have been published.

Those two factors are really what bring me to this corrective commentary: the apparent legality of the program in the United States, and the absence of any evidence that anyone’s private data had actually been misused. I had mentioned both as being part of “the most substantial argument against running the story,” but that reference was relegated to the bottom of my column.

...What kept me from seeing these matters more clearly earlier in what admittedly was a close call? I fear I allowed the vicious criticism of The Times by the Bush administration to trigger my instinctive affinity for the underdog and enduring faith in a free press — two traits that I warned readers about in my first column.


So...sorry. My bad. I said I was flawed in my judgement, blahblahblah. You can read all about it if you can find the thing buried at the end of an article on the Op-Ed page.

And I forgot to tell the nimrods who send out our daily email edition to put a link to it on there, too.

But, like I said, sorry.

(And all those cranky Minnesotans can just quit being mean, too. And Malkin's just a poopoo-head.)


Posted by tree hugging sister at October 22, 2006 03:48 PM

Comments

I really don't fully understand (I don't think I ever do-) but I think it is about Bush being unfairly accused (maybe) but whatever it is you did - NO BIGGIE

Posted by: getalifeagain at October 22, 2006 06:31 PM