Better Late Than Never?

At the last moment the Washington Post has decided to weigh in on the intelligence reform bill. Reform in Haste

That shake-up, driven by an odd combination of election-year politics and the determination of the Sept. 11 commission to leave a mark, may improve the quality of intelligence information supplied to the president and other key policymakers; we have our doubts. Like the passage of the USA Patriot Act or the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, it has been mandated hastily and with scant consideration of its long-term consequences.

All fair enough maybe, but why are they waiting until now to speak up about it? One would think that a newspaper such as the Washington Post could do better than merely issuing report cards on congressional action. It isn't as if this bill was under the radar screen and sprung on people at the last second. Why not raise concerns all along about the direction the bill was taking in the hopes that public pressure might force congress to do a better job? I always figured that was a large part of a newspaper role as a public advocate.

I wonder if, prior to the election, intelligence reform was viewed by the Post as primarily something to bludgeon the President with, (e.g. "He's done nothing to implement the findings of the 9/11 commission!") and not so much a matter of good public policy. If so, its a shame. During any campaign cycle we get all the electioneering we can handle without the Post's two cents. Good public policy debates are useful at all times, even during the political season.