New York Times publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr, known to friend and foe alike as Pinch, seems to have experienced a bit of a meltdown on the podium at graduation ceremonies for the State University of New York, New Palz. He began by apologizing for not making the world perfect. From The Freeman:

"I will start with an apology," Sulzberger told the graduates, who wore black gowns and hats with yellow tassels. "When I graduated in 1974, my fellow students and I ended the Vietnam War and ousted President Nixon. OK. OK. That's not quite true. Maybe there were larger forces at play.

"Either way, we entered the real world committed to making it a better, safer, cleaner, more equal place," Sulzberger added. "We were determined not to repeat the mistakes of our predecessors. We had seen the horror and futility of war and smelled the stench of government corruption. Our children, we vowed, would never know that. So, well, I am sorry."

The "futility of war" is an interesting expression to use, isn't it? All wars are bad? How about WW II? How about The Civil War? Should these have not been contested by the United States? Apparently so, in Pinch's eyes. I must have a bad memory, because I do not remember the NYT attacking Bill Clinton for making war on Serbia.

He continued:

"It wasn't supposed to be this way," Sulzberger said. "You weren't supposed to be graduating in an America fighting a misbegotten war in a foreign land. You weren't supposed to be graduating into a world where we are still fighting for fundamental human rights, be it the rights of immigrants to start a new life, the right of gays to marry or the rights of women to choose."

Sulzberger added the graduates weren't supposed to be let into a world "where oil still drives policy and environmentalists have to relentlessly fight for every gain.

"You weren't. But you are and I am sorry for that," Sulzberger said.

From the horse's mouth, we have it that Pinch believes in the perfectability of man, all within his lifetime. It is nice to understand the mentality guiding the NYT.

Hat tip: Jim Romanesko

Thomas Lifson   5 22 06