Issues & Insights [NYT & War On Terror]

Investors Business Daily ^ | 6/23/2006 | Unknown

[Verginius Rufus]

The WSJ has a conservative editorial page, but its news pages are said to be the most left-wing of the major papers, according to those who have studied the question.

[Verginius Rufus]

I can't imagine this kind of thing going on in WWII. There was one instance when the Chicago Tribune published a piece of information that was useful to the Japanese, but that was apparently an isolated incident. The country was united in considering the Germans and Japanese to be our enemies, and in believing that the war against them had to be fought through to victory--rich and poor, Democrats and Republicans, media, intellectuals, and the public.

Now we have maybe 40% of the country hoping for the US to be defeated in Iraq and disbelieving in the reality of the war on terror--that is, most of the Democratic Party. Among the elite, professors, and the media, the figure is much higher.

The different reality may be part of the reason for Bush's unwillingness to do anything about these repeated leaks which damage national security...he would be attacked by most of the media as doing it for partisan reasons or because of his dictatorial aims, and would get precious little support from the Republicans in Congress.