Of course, politicians do lie

And so, we have yet to see if Obama actually follows through on that promise to end the use of torture and prisoner abuse that is one of the main stains on the previous Administration. He has indicated he wants to, but…..

Being a consequentialist like most Americans, Obama is also hedging his bets it would appear:

However, Obama’s changes may not be absolute. His advisers are considering adding a classified loophole to the rules that could allow the CIA to use some interrogation methods not specifically authorized by the Pentagon, the officials said.

This, being translated, could well be the torture equivalent of “life and health of the mother” crapola that makes abortion legal right up to birth. In fact, I can see no real difference between such a policy and what the Bush Administration essentially secured in 2006 when they reserved the right to order the CIA to torture.

So, we may well be looking at an Administration that combines a willingness to torture with a zeal for abortion unmatched in previous Administrations–all justified by “what works”.

Weird how original sin corrupts a democracy.