Good catch, Glenn. Another in your series on how the press has cozied up to the right wing establishment. When they get to define the terms, they get to define the debate. Too often, it works.

Ventura was my governor, and I interviewed him at the time. To call his administration "non-partisan" or "libertarian" misses the point. While he was a sincere citizen-politician and did some good things for the state, he wasn't a very good governor, taking Minnesota from a billion dollar surplus to a 3.25 billion dollar deficit. (Our current Republican governor, Tim Pawlenty, has done even worse.) Both his strength and his weakness were that he was ANTI-partisan, going out of his way to be like neither the Democratic party nor the Republican party. He succeeded by running roughshod over bureaucratic inertia, and he failed because he didn't have political capital to horsetrade into a compromise.

He won the governorship riding the anti-partisanship of Ross Perot. He was the last major third party candidate with any sort of national appeal... and was driven out of the Independence Party by that ultimate right wing hatemonger Pat Buchanan. Then as now a populist movement was hijacked by extremists so they could pursue an extreme right wing agenda.

As Ventura points out, and as Glenn Greenwald has been reporting, the issue of torture should not be about power politics, but it is. Why? Well, some of it is sheer terror on the part of the Republicans. They were criminally wrong. But they've been looking at politics as a game for so long they have to play it out. As Deep Throat says, "Follow the money". Who stands to gain by covering up one of the greatest crimes in US history? I think you'll find it leads all the way up to Dick Cheney and the war machine that brought us Iraq and has stolen trillions from the US taxpayer.

So keep hammering away, Glenn. You have to fight a conservative media that's lazy at best and criminally complicit at worst. Don't let them define the words, and don't let the bad guys off the hook.

Another good catch, Glenn. Still, we knew Obama was going to continue Bush/Cheney's running of the war machine when he kept Gates. He was a sop to the "America First" people (many of whom now want to secede...).

Still, as you say, Obama is wrong. On moral grounds as well as on the grounds that it probably wouldn't hurt America's standing in the long term. Let's hope he gets around to dealing with this issue correctly pretty soon.

I want my country back!

What's most striking about the denial of so many Obama supporters about all of this is that Obama officials haven't really tried to hide it.

Yeah, the Obama administration is all about transparency.

While I fully agree with Glenn that Obama's continuation/expansion of Bush's anti-terrorism tactics is abhorrent, I can't help but be amused when Obama refuses to be pigeonholed. I'm still an Obama supporter because he does most things right (eg global warming), but I never expect to agree with any politician all the time.

Too many people are single issue voters, who view anything done through the myopic lens of one thing. I hope that Obama (or those advising him) will change their mind on this issue, even as I hope he doesn't change his mind on others.

So keep swinging, Glenn. We must hold our elected officials accountable, even when they do a fine job in most areas.

When a major attack occurs under the watch of Democrats, the immediate response is "We have nothing to fear but fear itself."

When a major attack occurs under the watch of Republicans, the immediate response is "Run! Hide! Give me all your money and close your eyes!"

Glenn, the answer to your question is that the sphincter conservatives prefer to live in a state of fear. Its a familiar place and makes them happy. Further, the immediacy of danger, whether real, imagined or an actual threat vastly overblown, is used as a cudgel to whip the rest of us in line. The adrenalin rush is one thing, political power is a major bonus.

Of course, they are the sole arbiters of what constitutes said danger. Cigarettes, poorly designed cars and global warming are all significantly more likely to kill you than a terrorist act, but they simply don't care. It's all about fear. And using that fear to make money.

Follow the money.

Hypocrisy and black humor value aside, I really can't come down too hard on Congress for actually doing the right thing.

Will the UAE reject the agreement because the we have a tolerance of torture and lawlessness? Or do they want a foot in the nuclear door so badly that they're willing to overlook our moral failings? Bets?

Even for the ideologically-driven remnants of the GOP, the attacks on Sonia Sotomayor are incredibly stupid. When the senate last looked at her, Jesse Helms voted for confirmation. When today's Republicans are farther to the right than Helms, they have lost all credibility... even among sane Republicans.

Will we see more defections from the ranks of the minority party? Not just votes, but Specter-like party switches? Which senator will give up in disgust? Which congressmen will run screaming away from the extremists?

I wish the Democrats had more guts about calling the Republicans out on their lies and distortions. The conservative news media won't do it. Glenn Greenwald and others come out swinging, but is it enough?