By now, three weeks into its epic wrestling match with the demons unleashed by Jayson Blair, one can almost feel sorry for the New York Times. But, when you think about how their chief editorial-side executives screwed up from beginning to end, any sympathetic feelings flee. Publisher Prince Sulzberger, Executive Editor Howl Raines, and Managing Editor Gerald Boyd, had looked the other way when Jayson came aboard flying the banner of diversity but without a college transcript. They promoted him and gave him choice assignments despite an accumulation of shoddy work, unexplained absences, and they continued to do so even...