“If Barack Obama had come in and done what he said he was going to do and look at the stuff and see what is working, then Cheney would have continued to do what he was doing — working on memoirs, finishing his house,” she said. “He’s got a good life. He’s got stuff going on. He doesn’t care about being on TV. There’s no more politics there. He’s not settling any scores. He just wants people to understand.“
Okay, what did Obama say he was going to do? In MyBarackObama in the defense section, he speaks of "restoring" frayed alliances. That sounds to me like GeeDubya messed things up and Obama felt he had a mandate to fix them. It doesn't sound like there was much investigation to be done. Alliances needed to be restored because they were obviously frayed or broken.
Was torture "working" in any meaningful sense? Not according to former Army Intelligence Officer Stuart Herrington, who said:
"We have lost the moral high ground,"
"If we use torture when we question prisoners, we forfeit the right to demand that anyone treat our soldiers decently if they are taken prisoner,"
"If we engage in that kind of activity, we put our soldiers at increased risk."
It wasn't necessary to "look at the stuff and see what is working," it was already obvious that it wasn't "working."
If there are no "politics" to his appearing on the teevee, why won't Cheney appear with interviewers who will challenge him? If he's just going to be talking with people like Bob Schieffer of "Face The Nation," who didn't ask any tough questions or as Air America pointed out "he'd have no problem testifying before Congress about the torture memos, but stopped short of promising to do so under oath." Meaning he doesn't want to, y'know, actually be held accountable for anything he says.
What I find very disturbing is the tendency of people in the press corp's "village" to try and find some sort of middle ground in the "debate" (If you can dignify the discussion with that highfalutin' term) over torture. Folks, there IS NO "middle ground"! It's wrong, period! The idea that we should let people like former President Bush trust their "guts" is insane! Bush's "gut" is absolutely the worst guide to anything wise or sensible I can imagine.
2 comments:
Mary Matalin: If Barack Obama had come in and done what he said he was going to do and look at the stuff and see what is working, then Cheney would have continued to do what he was doing — working on memoirs, finishing his house.
It appears tha Ms Matalin must have just awakened from a long deep coma and missed the last 3 years.
So Mary, to help fill in the blanks in an otherwise blank mind, here’s what Candidate Obama promised to do several years ago…
“As president, I will close Guantanamo, reject the Military Commissions Act and adhere to the Geneva Conventions.” — 8/10/07, Washington, D.C
“When I am president, America will reject torture, without exception.” — 8/1/07, Washington, D.C.
Glad to help fill in the missing years for you, Mary
Many thanks, Norris! Your quotes are a bit more relevant and to the point than what I was able to come up with.
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