Train Wreck

It's about torture. It's about morals. It's about the future of the United States. It's also about war crimes and a huge ass-covering effort. However, the confrontation between the Senate and the White House over Article III of the Geneva Conventions is also about politics. And when it comes to politics the know-it-all White House got this one wrong.

In interviews, two senior Bush administration officials acknowledged that the White House had underestimated the depth of opposition Mr. Bush’s proposal would provoke. They also said they had focused mostly on gaining Mr. Graham’s support and mistakenly believed they had it, based on statements he made about the Geneva Conventions in Senate hearings. A Republican senator separately described the clash between the White House and Mr. Warner’s group as “a train wreck.”

You'd think Karl Rove was distracted by PlameGate or something, but no, this political miscalculation was born of hubris. There was no need to push the detainee bill through before the elections. However, there was a need, an urgent need, to parade the "Democrats + terrorist = death" equation before the American people. Thankfully, McCain, Graham, and Warner are taking the long view. Thankfully, they understand somethings are more important than elections. It's a shame the rest of the GOP can't see past their own sorry hides.

For more about the waterboarding fuss I send you to Balkinization.