I’m speculating here — If she wrote an actual letter and sent it through the mail, it would have taken at least a day to just reach the Times. Internal processing would have added a bit more time before it got to an editor and assigned to a reporter. What I’m unsure of is when the first article was published. (Of course, there’s also the possibility that by “writing”, she was referring to emailing them.)
The New York Times story was published Wednesday.
Debate was on Sunday night.
Possible scenario is she wrote or emailed the Times early on Monday.
Following on what you said about processing time:
BUT in a city the size of New York, how many emails or letters come flooding into the PC’s or mailroom?
And how thoroughly do they check the stories people send in?
That leaves only Tuesday to process and write it, to print on Wednesday.
If it was email, maybe.
But snail mail? No way.