Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Liberal New York Times editorial board says Obama administration has 'lost all credibility'

article below from Fox News:

The New York Times editorial board, which twice endorsed President Obama and has championed many planks of his agenda, on Thursday turned on the president over the government's mass collection of phone data -- saying the administration has "lost all credibility."
The grey lady's editorial section lately has shown frustration with the administration's civil liberties record. It has criticized the escalation of the lethal drone program, and it lashed out after the Justice Department acknowledged seizing reporters' phone records last month.
The report that the National Security Agency has been collecting phone records from millions of Verizon subscribers appeared to be the last straw.
An editorial published late Thursday said the administration was using the "same platitude" it uses in every case of overreach -- that "terrorists are a real menace and you should just trust us."
The editorial continued: "Those reassurances have never been persuasive -- whether on secret warrants to scoop up a news agency's phone records or secret orders to kill an American suspected of terrorism -- especially coming from a president who once promised transparency and accountability. The administration has now lost all credibility."
The New York Times, overnight, amended the last line to say: "The administration has now lost all credibility on this issue."
The editorial board claimed Obama "is proving the truism that the executive will use any power it is given and very likely abuse it."
The language was a far cry from the Times' Oct. 23, 2008, endorsement of then-candidate Obama. At the time, the Times praised Obama's "cool head and sound judgment," and said he was "putting real flesh on his early promises of hope and change."
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle voiced concern on Thursday about the records collection effort. It was first reported by The Guardian newspaper, which obtained a copy of a secret court order allowing the government to collect phone call information - though not monitor the calls themselves -- directly from Verizon. Civil liberties-conscious lawmakers like Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., cried foul, as did the American Civil Liberties Union.


Read rest of article here: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/06/06/new-york-times-editorial-board-says-administration-has-lost-all-credibility/#ixzz2WgSerNko

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