The Gray Lady Whimpers

Ranging between the pile of greasy pots and pans, and the clutter threatening to bury the family room, I paused to read today's New York Times editorial, "Looking at America." I wonder who pens these things, and whether the tepid tone is a mere affect or a reliable marker of the depth of this author's outrage. Empassioned prose is considered vaguely or not so vaguely embarrassing in some quarters, and carefully considered understatement is put out as one hallmark of well bred opinionators, and this is fine in its place. But sometimes, as here, the mismatch of form to content is jarring. After this litany of administration high crimes and misdemeanors, I would have expected at least a temperate call for impeachment. The writer, however, took his leave with but a whimper:

We can only hope that this time, unlike 2004, American voters will have the wisdom to grant the awesome powers of the presidency to someone who has the integrity, principle and decency to use them honorably. Then when we look in the mirror as a nation, we will see, once again, the reflection of the United States of America.

"We can only hope?" What profligacy with the Times' vast capacity to influence public opinion.