Andrew Sullivan flags a revealing bit of dialogue from last week's presidential press conference:
Q Thank you, sir. A simple question.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. It may require a simple answer.
Q What’s your definition of the word "torture"?
THE PRESIDENT: Of what?
Q The word "torture." What's your definition?
THE PRESIDENT: That's defined in U.S. law, and we don't torture.
Q Can you give me your version of it, sir?
THE PRESIDENT: Whatever the law says.
His likely new attorney general, Michael Mukasey, seems not to know, either:
"Is waterboarding constitutional?" Mr. Mukasey was asked by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, in one of the sharpest exchanges.
"I don't know what is involved in the technique," Mr. Mukasey replied. "If waterboarding is torture, torture is not constitutional."
As the Romans used to say, "Quod erat demonstrandum." (Careful readers of Mukasey's answer might note a logical fallacy, in addition to the evasiveness.)
There will be some token complaining from Sen. Patrick Leahy, who chairs the Judiciary Committee and asked the nominee to clarify his understanding of waterboarding, but Mukasey will probably be confirmed without having to offer much more than that. And so, months from now, when members of Congress complain about executive power grabs and unconstitutional behavior, take their whining with a grain of salt. The time to do something about it is now.
Read More
