The NYT changes the headline that produced the dramatic Drudge link "They Knew."

As I blogged here yesterday, Drudge had this dramatic graphic depiction...



... linking to a NYT article with the headline: "Treasury Knew of I.R.S. Inquiry in 2012, Official Says." Key text on that point:

The inspector general... divulged that he informed the Treasury’s general counsel he was auditing the I.R.S.’s screening of politically active groups seeking tax exemptions on June 4, 2012. He told Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin “shortly after,” he said. That meant Obama administration officials were aware of the matter during the presidential campaign year.

This morning, the headline at the link is: "Republicans Expand I.R.S. Inquiry, With Eye on White House."

It's all about the Republicans' political ambitions. That's the spin. That's what they have.  We're supposed to look ahead to 2014 (and 2016), not back to 2012, when voters were deprived of information we could have used.

But we're not supposed to look backward. Only "Forward" — which was, you may remember, Obama's official slogan in the campaign. It fits nicely with the unofficial slogan "What difference, at this point, does it make?"

In that view, the NYT's new headline makes sense. Look always to the future. The past only matters to the extent that it influences what we do going forward. In that view, the scandal investigations are to be understood in terms of the next election. Naturally. What else is there?