Reply #35: Read it once more, please.

[Orsino]

"As a matter of policy it cannot be American policy, period," Clinton responded, seconding the clear positions of Senators Barack Obama (Ill.)and Joe Biden (Del.).

She very carefully didn't say no to any torture. Her statement amounts to little more than saying, "Don't get caught putting it in writing," and leaves the door open for the so-called "narrow exceptions" she hypothesized. It is not difficult to say, "No. Never. It is wrong, and we must never torture," and in this case she failed that test. Her waffling here smells like Mukasey's.

I don't believe that she actually wants anyone tortured, but let's not pretend that it's not gonna happen under her Administration. I think that she's so afraid of a mis-step that she's aiming for a "sensible" position that can't as easily be ridiculed as soft on terror. She's aware that tens of millions of Americans like the idea of torturing bad guys, and will not risk losing over a principled stance.

I'd like to believe that once she took office, she'd quietly send word down the chain to stop any form of torture. But she isn't going to promise us that now, unless perhaps Obama ups the ante with a similar stance.