Newspapers finally addressing Muhammad cartoons - barely

NY Times has its own editorial, and the Washington Post has a guest editorial.

The Times uses most of its space to state that the violence is uncalled for. Hidden in the middle, the editorial casually notes of the cartoons that "Americans still recognize [them] as within the speech protected by our First Amendment."

We assume the Times includes itself among "Americans" - and if we're correct, it's a pretty lukewarm thumbs-up to the free press.

The German guest writer in the Post, conversely, uses his first paragraph to address the fact that his own newspaper printed the cartoons: "It was the right thing to do," he writes.

I wonder if either newspaper's editorial page will actually take a firm stand on the issue.