i don't think you can say it's a kneejerk reaction. Brewster Khale's reply doesn't really address the concerns in the original post - if anything, it seems to validate those concerns. specifically:
"The Archive is an ongoing evolution towards "What is a Library in the 21st Century going to be?""
seems to confirm that the internet archive's primary goal is not the continued preservation of the archive.
That doesn't really confirm that, IMHO. The line before claims the opposite, in fact: "The Internet Archive has been around since 1996, and while that does not guarantee anything, it shows continuity of support and strong commitment to digital preservation with as much access as possible."
"The Archive is an ongoing evolution towards "What is a Library in the 21st Century going to be?""
seems to confirm that the internet archive's primary goal is not the continued preservation of the archive.