Wall Street Whores Rip The Times - But WSJ's Harwood Says "Wait a Minute!"

The WSJ has lost credibility by the bucketful since Bush cheated his way into office; now they're even savaging The Times for running the very same story WSJ did regarding the Bushies' bank spying efforts. But John Harwood of WSJ seems to have a bit more street cred.

From Editor & Publisher:

NEW YORK After remaining silent for several days, the Wall Street Journal's editorial page on Friday ripped The New York Times for publishing its recent article on the secret banking records surveillance program after being asked by the administration not to do so. The Journal did this, even though it ran its own piece on the same subject just minutes after the Times story appeared. It defended its story by saying it was "straighter" than the Time piece -- and the White House had no problem with it.

The Times' publisher, Arthur Sulzberger Jr. responded, saying that his paper seemed to have more respect for the Journal's newsroom than did the Journal editorial page. The many calls from E&P, seeking comment from editors in that newsroom at the Journal, were never returned.

But some insights came on Sunday, when John Harwood, a longtime staffer and senior writer for the Journal, appeared on Meet the Press, with Andrea Mitchell substituting for host Tim Russert, and explained what he found "shocking" in that editorial.Here is the exchange.