Kudos to the NY Times. Finally.

Bill Keller, the executive editor of The New York Times, wrote a letter to the Times's readers today, concerning a recent story about the Bush Administration's secret program to examine banking records.

I thought the original article was pretty tame, but evidently, the rightwingnuts have gone zellmiller over the matter, accusing the Times of all manner of aiding and comforting the enemy. The money quote from Keller's response to them:

Some of the incoming mail quotes the angry words of conservative bloggers and TV or radio pundits who say that drawing attention to the government's anti-terror measures is unpatriotic and dangerous. (I could ask, if that's the case, why they are drawing so much attention to the story themselves by yelling about it on the airwaves and the Internet.)

Much of Keller's letter will strike smart readers (like you) as a rehash of Civics 101: The Desirability of a Free Press in Preserving Democracy. However, it's a well-written piece and it never hurts to review the basics. I do have to wonder whether anyone sufficiently drool-free to pick up the Times needs this refresher, but maybe some, like me, will pass it along.

Anyway, here's the letter I wrote to Keller, in response:

Dear Mr. Keller:

I meant to write earlier, to congratulate you and the Times for having published the article on the bank records matter. It was the right choice.

Your letter in today's (6/25 -- web version) Times, which responds to the mail that you did get, obviates the need for me to add my two cents, I suppose.

I do have one comment on your fine letter: You said, regarding attitudes about government surveillance programs, "Most Americans seem to support extraordinary measures in defense against this extraordinary threat . . ."

I'll stipulate that you've seen polling data to back this up. However, I would argue that those results are a bit misleading. First, it's easy to construct a poll question that would skew these results in any desired direction. Much more importantly, I strongly believe that many people have a kneejerk reaction to say, "Yes, yes, anything to defeat the terrorists," and never stop to consider the ramifications of granting such carte blanche.

I'd like such poll questions to be asked before and after reading articles like the Times's expose of the banking records case.

As the son of a career newspaperwoman, I will always believe that among your principle duties is to educate the public. Keep up the good work.