Getting it right

There are a few journalists in the notorious MSM who usually get it right, and now some of their columns are more readily available due to changes in the way the New York Times manages its online TimesSelect feature. Each of the following columns, now available for free, is well worth a look:

• Bob Herbert's "The Ugly Side of the G.O.P."
• Paul Krugman's "Politics in Black and White" (with an analysis that closely tracks Herbert's)
• Frank Rich's "Will the Democrats Betray Us?"

Until recently, TimesSelect was available only to paid subscribers. Since free lunches are unknown in the corporate media, will the tradeoff for "free" access be more intrusive advertising? Too soon to tell, but for now the Paper of Record deserves some credit for making these fine journalists more generally available online.

At the same time, the paper deserves plenty of criticism for its craven response to the fabricated uproar over MoveOn.org's recent ad criticizing General Petraeus' longstanding support of the Bush/Cheney line on Iraq.