An article in today's New York Times runs under the headline "French Minister Call U.S. Policy Simplistic." The article begins, "PARIS, Feb. 6 -- Frustration with President Bush's worldview burst into the open here today, as Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine openly criticized Washington's approach to terrorism as 'simplistic.'" It's impossible for anyone other than Mr. Vedrine himself to know for sure why he is frustrated, but the betting here is that it has less to do with President Bush's worldview than with the fact that Mr. Vedrine is the foreign minister of a country that has long since passed into America's shadow. Here is Mr. Vedrine talking about France's relationship with America: "No one is easy to get on with in international relations. I don't think we are either. In any event, we don't have that reputation in the United States. . . . There remain serious disagreements which we talk about frankly, amicably." That comment is from an interview Mr. Vedrine gave in 1998 -- during the Clinton administration. The Times article manages to avoid mentioning the fact that Mr. Vedrine was frustrated back then, too.
Wrong Party: An article in the metro section of today's New York Times reports on the New York City Council and refers to "Michael E. McMahon, a Republican of Staten Island." In fact Mr. McMahon is a Democrat.