Editor & Publisher, The Washington Post and The New York Times all report that President Bush has begun speaking with reporters in off-the-record briefing sessions these last few weeks. This is a great strategy for Bush. He’s reportedly much better in informal sessions and within small groups.

Nevertheless, I think the NYT, which decided not to participate in the briefings, did the right thing:

Philip Taubman, the Washington bureau chief for The Times, said in a statement last night: “The Times has declined this opportunity after weighing the potential benefits to our readers against the prospect of withholding information from them about the discussion with Mr. Bush. As a matter of policy and practice, we would prefer when possible to conduct on-the-record interviews with public officials.”

Most reporters agree that they should not put themselves in a position to be “spun” in an off-the-record briefing with the President of the United States, and I think the NYT is making the difficult but correct decision to decline the invitation.

Here’s my problem: The NYT doesn’t apply the same logic to public officials who seek to spin information against the Bush administration. Once again, skepticism is a one-way street.