All the News That's Fit to Print

("James Bennet Resigns As New York Times Opinion Editor")

"All The News That's Fit to Print."

That slogan has appeared on the masthead of the New York Times for almost 125 years. It is a declaration of intention, a statement that personal revulsion of those in its employ towards controversial views would not necessarily mandate these opinions fail to appear on their pages. And thus the Times has often allowed an uncomfortable voice to be heard.

But the paper has strayed from its mission on occasion, allowing op-eds that speak not to ambiguous truths but merely to outright hatreds, outrageous prejudices and incontrovertible lies. The worst among these writings do not produce meaningful discussion, but merely give a platform for the exhibition of a moral turpitude which does not deserve the light of day. And certainly not a place of prominence in perhaps the most respected newspaper in this nation.

The Tom Cotton op-ed was an embarrassment, and in this the overheated heart of a national crisis, something far worse. It gave a leading Republican, one who has the ear of the President, the imprimatur of legitimacy in his call for the use of overwhelming force by our own troops against an enemy not threatening the safety of this country but protesting the perpetual brutality against a portion of our own citizenry. 

That egregious error in judgment by the paper was met with swift and universal condemnation. And now, with the resignation of Mr. Bennet as opinion editor.

Because all the news that's fit to print means exactly that, and Mr. Bennet, and the New York Times, lost sight of what "fit" entails at a crucial moment.  A dark day indeed for the masthead.