WSJ runs Cleary letter — without PiPress’ leeriness of making edits

The Wall Street Journal today ran Ramsey County District Judge Edward Cleary’s letter, which took the paper to task for its Jan. 5 editorial on the Senate recount, “Funny Business in Minnesota.” A few words and phrases that were in the version Cleary sent are missing, including “reflects poorly on the author,” “the numerous inaccuracies” and “we won’t hold our breath waiting for that editorial to appear.”

Those edits — which may seem slightly suspect but don’t egregiously defang Cleary’s missive — are more defensible than the St. Paul Pioneer Press’ failure to apply a red pencil to the laughably flawed WSJ column, which ran in full and intact on the PiPress’ own editorial page yesterday.

Joining Cleary’s complaint in today’s WSJ is another Minnesotan’s letter pointing out that the 470-vote swing certified in the recount results amounts to less than two-tenths of one percent of the votes cast:

I challenge you to find any state in this nation that could perform a recount with this kind of statistical result. I think you protest too much, and in the process insult the great state of Minnesota.