The Other Moderate Voice – New York Times

Andrew Rosenthal, the editorial page editor of The New York Times, answered questions from readers Sept. 24-28.
Link

Finally, there are issues that the Times editorial board considers of transcendent importance — the nation’s security and its global image; the relationship between government and the people, which includes the balance among the branches of our democracy, civil liberties, civil rights, taxation, welfare, Medicare, Medicaid and a host of other issues. We are strong believers in the First Amendment (and more faithful to the Second Amendment than our critics believe). We are strong believers in the right to privacy and the associated right to reproductive choice. We are passionate opponents of all forms of authoritarian behavior by the federal government. We believe in free trade and reasonable, progressive taxation. We believe in a robust application of American influence and power, but one that is consistent with our democratic values. And we believe in the right of Americans to cast a vote that counts, and will be accurately recorded.

Responding to the charge that the NYT is always against the President:

We supported the No Child Left Behind Act and the Medicare drug benefit. We supported the invasion of Afghanistan, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of Director of National Intelligence. We support the two-state approach to the Israel-Palestine dispute, and we join Mr. Bush in opposing the Iranian nuclear weapons program, as well as the North Korean program. We agree that free trade is vital to the development of the United States, as well as the rest of the world. We believe that terrorism is a dire threat to American national security and American lives. We supported the nomination of Bob Gates as secretary of defense and Henry Paulson Jr. as treasury secretary, which we called “a master stroke.”

And he acknowledges obvious bias:

It would be ludicrous for me to suggest that we’re equally sympathetic to Republican and Democratic values and platforms. We are not. We generally find more in the Democratic Party’s policies and approach to governing that we support and are particularly critical of Republican taxation and government spending philosophies. But if you look, you will find criticisms of Bill Clinton when he was president and of Congress when it was controlled by Democrats. The focus of all newsgathering tends to be on the party in power.

I feel that the NYT usually reflects my centrist inclinations and rejoice in the astonishing caliber of this moderate and widely read voice.