Somewhere, former New York Times executive editor Howell Raines is smiling (or at least wearing a less-prominent scowl). The Augusta National Golf Club's surprise decision to admit two women as members made the front of Tuesday's paper: "Host to Masters Drops a Barrier With Its First 2 Female Members."
As executive editor, Raines caused controversy even among the liberal media in 2003 for his constant front-page crusade against the all-male membership policies of a private entity, The Augusta National Golf Club, home of The Masters golf tournament. Raines went so far as to spike columns by two of his own writers for taking issue with the paper's embarrassing editorial suggesting Tiger Woods boycott the Masters in the name of solidarity with women.
Golf writer Karen Crouse, the author of Tuesday's front-page piece, who had her own ideological fender-bender on the issue, wrote in typical overheated fashion:


