Torture Hearings
I'm ambivalent about the move to turn Alberto Gonzales's confirmation hearings into an inquiry into the Bush administration's sanctioning of torture. On the one hand, the administration has far too easily dodged the issue, and the public has been too ready to pretend that serious human rights violations aren't taking place. On the other, I fear that partisan confirmation hearings are the worst possible forum. By turning torture into just another partisan weapon, the Democrats will almost certainly demean what should be a grave inquiry.
One hopeful sign: This column by the WaPost's Anne Applebaum, who's the furthest thing from a partisan hack--an intellectual with real ethos on human rights. Maybe, just maybe, we'll get a serious discussion, at least outside the halls of Congress.