A Desire to Inform the American People Equals Hatred of the American People

Or at least that's the message of Michael Barone's latest article.

Why do they hate us? Why does the Times print stories that put America more at risk of attack? They say that these surveillance programs are subject to abuse, but give no reason to believe that this concern is anything but theoretical. We have a press that is at war with an administration, while our country is at war against merciless enemies.

Barone is, of course, upset at the Times for revealing President Bush's Warrantless Wiretapping program and, more recently, their Bank Account Spying Program. By telling the American people about such programs, they put the American people in danger. The only thing to do in a democracy as accept President Bush's right as our divine monarch to use whatever methods he chooses to protect us. I mean that is why God has ordained that George Bush the Second should reign over the American Commonwealth.

Wait a second. I just remembered this is a Democracy. President Bush rules with the informed consent of the governed. Barone is arguing that the Press should keep Americans uninformed. That might work in a feudal society, but not in the sort of Democracy our founding fathers envisioned.

So maybe the real question is why does Michael Barone hate America?