The NY Times miscalculation

John McIntyre:

This story is a further example of how the political environment can change very quickly. President Bush was already looking better after two weeks of positive news (holding CA-50, killing Zarqawi, Rove cleared, a new government in Iraq) before the New York Times irresponsibly disclosed details of a top secret program aimed at protecting the nation from future terrorist attacks. The program was legal, effective, and had strong bi-partisan support: both 9/11 Commission Vice Chair Lee Hamilton and Rep. John Murtha (Pa.) strongly urged the Times not to disclose the program.

Politically, this is a clear winner for Bush and the GOP. The issue plays to Bush's strengths and continues to paint the picture of the President as a stalwart fighter, protecting America's safety while the left-wing press does their best to undermine as many successful anti-terror programs as possible.

The Times and the far left are so completely out of touch with where the country is on national security and terrorism issues they probably thought this disclosure would hurt Bush politically. They are clueless.

...

What this story does is drop the NY Times into the category with CBS News, not because they used bogus documents to attack the President, but because they reveal information to help the enemy in order to attack the President. In both cases the news organizations were so eager to hurt the President that they lost their morals and professionalism. While the Times seems very much on the defensive with Keller et.al. looking like Rather and Mapes, the White House is not really going after these people other than rhetorically.

Tony Snow has said that the NY Times will not lose its White House press pass and Attorney General Gonzales does not sound eager to prosecute the paper. However an indirect approach would be very effective and the NY Times would be essentially defenseless since their appeal of the Judy Miller jailing for contempt made the precedent. The reporters and editors should be brought before a grand jury and be required to reveal the names of the people who clearly broke the law by talking to them.

Don't be surprised if the source is a Democrat on a House or Senate committee that has been briefed about the program. If that turns out to be the case the blowback could be significant.

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