Could the NYT Swift Scrub Story Help Bush?

An interesting perspective from the George Mason HNN blog:

Those who believe that Bill Keller and his fellow powers that be in the New York Times are motivated by Bush hatred must think again. For their revelation that Bank Data Is Sifted by U.S. in Secret to Block Terror " is going to help Bush and the Republicans while undermining the ability of the international community to use technology to fight terror....................

How so? When compared to the anemic efforts of the former administration, it becomes even more clear Bush is doing everything possible to protect the country and win the war:

Taken together with the NSA revelations, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the US was repeatedly hit during the Clinton administration because it failed to use the tools at its disposal and has not been hit because the Bush administration did not. Moreover, while Bill Clinton turned down the opportunity to try Bin Laden because it lacked the evidence it needed to bring him to justice, the tools used by the Bush administration led to the capture of terrorists both here and abroad AND to their successful prosecution................

This latest revelation shows once again that Bush and his administration have and continue to go all out in the GWOT and are more interested in winning the war than political polls or favorable left of center newspaper headlines:

Ironically, this so called "political" administration repeatedly put the good of the country ahead of its political interest not only by keeping the lid on these programs but by appealing humbly to the NYT editors sense of patriotism. They failed repeatedly................

The timing of the story also had suspicious timing just like the secrete prison story by Dana Priest of WaPo:

For this revelation, like the Washington Post rendition, seeks to undermine US-EU cooperation. Dana Priest published her article following the election of pro-American Angela Merkel and during the fence mending trip of the new Secretary Rice to Europe. The NYT revelation followed the "unexpectedly" successful President Bush's trip to Europe.......................

Also Powerline has a link to Ace of Spades that looks at the pro-democrat motive of the article and others like it........

Per Ace:

The left continues to undermine national security in the most despicable, cynical way. I'm quite sure the reasonable liberals at the NYT and WaPo know full well that programs like this are absolutely vital, and their secrecy is likewise vital. However, they have made the most anti-American and evil sort of decision: While tools like this are vital for saving American lives, they will not permit any Republican President to use them. Only Democratic Presidents are permitted to employ the full panoply of powers for protecting American lives.

It's blackmail, pure and simple. Either let a Democrat into the White House, or we will continue to sabotage American security and, in effect, kill Americans. We will keep secrets when a Democrat is in office, but not a Republican. So we offer the American people a choice: Let the politicians we favor run the country, or we will help Al Qaeda murder you.

Powerline:

I think this is actually the subtext not only of the leaks, but of a lot of news coverage. If you don't want news coverage that constantly deprecates the economy, for example, and thereby undermines consumer confidence, the solution is simple: elect Democrats.

Ther story is obviously intended to hurt Bush and the GWOT efforts, but it might not work out that way............................