This observation from Byron York deserves wider play:
Has anyone noticed an uproar over the leak of information from the new National Intelligence Estimate on terrorism? I haven’t, either. […]
Just flash back to April, when it was revealed, through the Fitzgerald investigation, that Lewis Libby had been authorized to reveal parts of a then-secret NIE on Iraq. The administration’s opponents were outraged — among them, the Times editorial page, which, in an editorial entitled “A Bad Leak,” said:Since Mr. Bush regularly denounces leakers, the White House has made much of the notion that he did not leak classified information, he declassified it. This explanation strains credulity. Even a president cannot wave a wand and announce that an intelligence report is declassified.
Now, it appears no one even waved a wand over this new NIE leak. As they say, where’s the outrage?
I can’t emphasize this enough: The New York Times editorial board has long since abandoned well-reasoned argumentation for partisan point-scoring. Expecting consistency from this board where consistency would undermine a political attack on the Bush administration is tantamount to waiting for Godot.