I know it's debate day. I know there are some great polls out today. I know it feels like every day is Christmas. But seriously, the real headline of the day is being buried in a pile of our own giddiness.
The Washington Post saw fit to print it on Page A01 this morning.
The Bush administration issued a pair of secret memos to the CIA in 2003 and 2004 that explicitly endorsed the agency's use of interrogation techniques such as waterboarding against al-Qaeda suspects...
It might feel like old news to us, because we were bright enough to figure out the truth long ago. But to the average American, torture and waterboarding -- and the Bush administration's express written consent to use them, despite all of W's "this country doesn't torture" speeches -- is big, current news.
From WaPo:
As recently as last month, the administration had never publicly acknowledged that its policymakers knew about the specific techniques, such as waterboarding, that the agency used against high-ranking terrorism suspects. In her unprecedented account to lawmakers last month, Rice, now secretary of state, portrayed the White House as initially uneasy about a controversial CIA plan for interrogating top al-Qaeda suspects.
We have, for the first time, cabinet-level confirmation of Bush/Cheney's torture policy. Isn't this fair game in tonight's debate, given McSame's public position from February of this year?
From Think Progress:
Last week, the Senate brought the Intelligence Authorization Bill — which contained a provision banning waterboarding — to the floor for a vote. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), an outspoken waterboarding critic, voted against the bill.
At the time, ThinkProgress questioned whether McCain would stand with Bush’s threatened veto of the legislation. Today, the AP reports that McCain has come out saying Bush should veto the measure, which would make the Army Field Manual the standard for CIA interrogations.
Talking to reporters today, McCain attempted to defend his stance:
"I said there should be additional techniques allowed to other agencies of government as long as they were not" torture. "I was on the record as saying that they could use additional techniques as long as they were not cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment," McCain said.
"So the vote was in keeping with my clear record of saying that they could have additional techniques, but those techniques could not violate" international rules against torture.
But the vote was not "in keeping" with McCain’s unclear record on torture; in the past, McCain called waterboarding a "terrible and odious practice" that "should never be condoned in the U.S."
McCain is trying to have it both ways.
Maybe it's just me, but this strikes me as bigger than we're giving it credit for. As we continue to tie the anchor of George Bush to both feet of John McSame, few issues carry the pure disgust that this one does with the electorate.