C'mon In, the Water's Fine

It's always nice to see the big guys in the blogosphere (or even the MSM) echo observations first made in small blogs, like this one.

Case in point: last Thursday, we noted the blatant hypocrisy of the NTY (and other media outlets) who fretted over the outing of Valerie Plame, but had no problem revealing a highly sensitive surveillance program, vital to the War on Terror:

"...The Times also misses another key motivation for the surveillance program. By keeping it close-hold within the NSA, the administration and intelligence officials were hoping to lessen chances of a leak, or inadvertent disclosure. Secrecy was deemed vital to maintain the flow of critical information but that flow may now slow to a trickle, thanks to the NYT. Sometimes secrets are necessary to protect a democracy, but that is an alien concept in the Times newsroom and executive suite. The same organization that is so concerned about the Valerie Plame affair has no problems with exposing a secret that is far more vital to national security. It's the sort of hypocrisy the Times practices on a regular basis."

Columnist Max Boot makes similar points in today's edition of the Los Angeles Times, noting that the "Plame Platoon" has been predictably silent on the NYT's exposure of a highly classified intelligence program. Glad to see you're catching up, Max. Of course, as a moderate conservative at the LA Times, Mr. Boot operates at a serious disadvantage. His column appears only once a week, and that's probably a bit too often for some Times staffers. Still, it's encouraging to have Mr. Boot join the fray, in highlighting the MSM's obvious hypocrisy on protecting our nation's secrets.