Giving Bush A Pass

Last week when our Secretary of State struggled through an overlawyered explanation of our torture policies, the Washington Post called her on it.

Ms. Rice said, "It is also U.S. policy that authorized interrogation will be consistent with U.S. obligations under the Convention Against Torture, which prohibit cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment." What she didn't explain is that, under this administration's eccentric definition of "U.S. obligations," cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment is not prohibited as long as it does not occur on U.S. territory. That is the reason for the secret prisons that the CIA has established in European countries and other locations around the world, and for the "renditions" of detainees to countries such as Egypt and Jordan: so that the administration can violate the very treaty Ms. Rice claims it is upholding

But it seems like folks have given Bush a pass, although his stumbling through a qualification of how we treat international law was less artful.

These are people that still want to hurt us, Brian. And the American people expect us to do that which we can do within international law and our own declaration of supporting the premises of international law is what I really meant to say -- to protect us. I mean, if they know something, we need to know it.

"The American people expect us to do that which we can do within our own declaration of supporting the premises of international law" ??? Please. Someone. Get this man a teleprompter. His stammering over what he's done is torture in itself.

However, as Sullivan notes, today it appears that the Bush Administration has come around to McCain's way of thinking. Of course, they had to. This was killing them publicly - the vast majority of Congressfolk were behind McCain, i.e. against torture. The majority was veto proof. They really had no other choice.