Reporting, though, is only part of the equation: The motto around the Politico newsroom is to "win the morning, win the afternoon"--by which editors mean that Politico's stories need to be the most talked-about and cited in that day's news cycle.
-- The New Republic, "The Scoop Factory," Feb. 2009.
I know this must be hard for the editors at the Politico to fathom, but there are actually some stories that come down the pike that are more important, and more complicated, than "winning the morning" or "winning the afternoon." The growing drumbeat of revelations about the torture of prisoners in American custody -- in a scheme that was cooked up and then rationalized at the highest levels of our government -- is nothing less than a moral test of who we are as a nation and where we want go from here. It doesn't lend itself to cute little "up" and "down" arrows, to dueling cable shouters "on the right" and "on the left," to all the little devices we in the media use to equate American politics on the soundbite level of sports' "Pardon the Interruption."
I was thinking about that last week as I was reading the latest thrust by the Politico-Drudge alliance, framing the torture story not as one as a failed test of the morals of the president we had just 96 days ago (his name was George W. Bush in case you've forgotten) and his administration, but as yet another new challenge for President Barack Obama. Their emphasis was that "Obama’s attempt to project legal and moral clarity on coercive CIA interrogation methods has instead done the opposite — creating confusion and political vulnerability over an issue that has inflamed both the left and right."
The article was off-base in so many ways it's hard to know where to begin. For what it matters, Obama has been very consistent on this topic from Day One, and I know, because I was the very first reporter to ask him about the notion of prosecuting Bush White House officials -- inspired specifically by the torture issue -- when the then-candidate visited the Daily News 12 months ago. What he said then is what he's saying now, that he wants his presidency to be forward looking but that no one is above the law. It's true that a key Obama aide, chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, caused some confusion by saying something different in one interview...but ultimately, so what? Should one misstatement really distract us from the fundamental truths that a nation that was founded to promote life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness strayed so far from those ideals.
One of things that the Politicos and David Broders and other channelers of the Beltway zeitgeist seem so unable to fathom is quite simply that the torture issue is simply bigger than eben Obama's ability to control. Sure, he can influence some key aspects of it, as he did with last week's release of the Justice Department memos. But at the end of the day, it is not -- and should not be -- Obama's decision on whether to prosecute, but the deliberate and independent judgment of the Justice Department.
And an issue this big belongs to all of us, anyway. It belongs to our elected representatives, who must decide whether to press their own investigations and whether to impeach one of the torture memo authors, Jay Bybee,. now a federal appeals judge. It belongs to rand-and-file citizens to press our leaders to act. And of course it also belongs to those of us in the news media, who have the ability to investigate the facts that government, even a new government, might find uncomfortable to expose, and also to provide the moral framework and outraged tone that a story like this one deserves.
For the most part, we've failed so far. It was more than a little disheartening to learn of the crippling fear inside the newsroom of the New York Times, where editors and reporters were so afraid of offending, so afraid of anyone thinking that the newspaper was taking a side, that the news staffers refused to label globally outlawed practices such as waterboarding as "torture." On the same morning we learned about that wishy-washiness at our most influential newspaper, David Broder of the Washington Post was trying to argue that the torture story isn't about obeying the law, or about our national soul, but "cloaks an unworthy desire for vengeance." I believe what Broder is really saying is that it's impossible for him to believe that someone who lunches across from him at the Palm or the Capitol Grille is capable of what Frank Rich described as "the banality of evil," that someone who wears a nice tie or has a kid in Little League could condone or encourage unlawful, violent and sometimes even lethal acts -- acts which we are now learning were carried out to achieve the dubious political ends of our leaders.
Almost every flaw of our craft has been on display in the last week or two -- the pleading for a middle-of-the-road answer to a problem where there is no middle ground, the phony "he said, she said" journalism that gives a 50 percent voice to the advocates of American-bred torture, the use of unnecessary anonymous quotes to defend the indefensible, the need for an elite inside-the-Beltway clique to circle the wagons, to insist that aggressive prosecution is only for the crimes that "regular people" commit.
What a shame. Although it is tragic that we must be talking about something like torture in the United States of America in 2009, this issue does offer modern journalism a chance to do something we have not done in at least a generation -- and that is to provide this nation, our readers and viewers, with moral clarity and leadership. There is still time to show that we've learned something from the fiasco of pre-Iraq war journalism, when a lack of aggressive reporting and a kowtowing to authority made us a co-conspirator in one major step into the abyss, when we launched a "pre-emptive war" against a nation not capable of attacking us. Now, there is no reason why every journalistic voice in this country can say it as simply as Fox News Channel's Shepherd Smith, that "we are America, we do not (expletive deleted) torture." Why not? I don't know any journalist who thinks there are two sides to freedom of the press, so why should freedom from torture be any different?
And then we can follow that up by proving we're still capable of what we once did best -- aggressive investigative reporting, fighting for more openness and transparency, and letting the chips fall where they may, regardless of who gets hurt...as long as people are held accountable. That won't solve all of journalism's woes -- it won't bring back our classified ads, to name just one -- but this is something that is in our control, where we can do the right thing. It starts with remembering that in every generation, there comes a story where there's no sitting on the fence -- and that this is our story.
And that there are actually a few things more important in this world than "who won the afternoon"?
This is Will and his buddies big chance for revenge, and they see it slipping away because it's an issue only to the group-think types in liberal circles. Now the in-fighting will start because some in the media aren't as perpetually outraged as Will would like them to be.— jmc
AGAIN, waterboarding is NOT "torture." If a pansy jounalist like Christopher Hitchens can endure it, so can TERRORISTS ( you liberals don't use that word anymore. Not even to say "we tortured the terrorists"; very revealing.) No matter how much they were waterboarded the water could NEVER WASH THE BLOOD FROM THEIR HANDS, PERIOD. I want YOU to say that no matter how much we think someone has CRITICAL info on an impending attack, you don't want the gov't to use any technique they think will get the info out of the creep. SAY IT YOU COWARD. "I don't care if they have evidence that a dirty bomb will be set off in Centre City, my gov't should engage in enhanced interrogation techniques." Go ahead, make my day.— WriteWinger- Hey Will, I am waiting for you to answer write-wing's question. Do you really think terrorists will hesitate to torture you if they got their hands on you?! As for former President Bush, remind yourself that after 9/11, we were not attacked again. Who is it gonna be, the terrorist's skin or yours? Ask them that when you have them over for tea.— mulford71
- Good point, WriteWinger. But Bunch isn't the only "pansy" that objects to torture. Here's another "coward" that would rather see a dirty bomb go off, killing thousands of Americans, than see a few terrorists get wet. Gen. Petreaus: --snip-- Some may argue that we would be more effective if we sanctioned torture or other expedient methods to obtain information from the enemy. They would be wrong. Beyond the basic fact that such actions are illegal, history shows that they also are frequently neither useful nor necessary. Certainly, extreme physical action can make someone "talk;" however, what the individual says may be of questionable value. In fact, our experience in applying the interrogation standards laid out in the Army Field Manual (2-22.3) on Human Intelligence Collector Operations that was published last year shows that the techniques in the manual work effectively and humanely in eliciting information from detainees. We are, indeed, warriors. We train to kill our enemies. We are engaged in combat, we must pursue the enemy relentlessly, and we must be violent at times. What sets us apart from our enemies in this fight, however, is how we behave. In everything we do, we must observe the standards and values that dictate that we treat noncombatants and detainees with dignity and respect. --snip-- I mean we all know, anyone like yourself, WriteWinger, who gets his rocks off from hearing about men in uniforms abusing shackled detainees, must have balls the size of Jupiter.— Talking point sleuth
Terrorists don't use torture to gain information necessary to protect themselves. They do it for the sheer fun of it.— ocjones
Comment removed.- "I don't care if they have evidence that a dirty bomb will be set off in Centre City, my gov't should engage in enhanced interrogation techniques - because if they have that evidence, then torture is unnecessary." That and I don't want to the US gov't to start torturing folks. Who knows who's next? Maybe the party in power starts torturing the fellow citizens on the other side of the aisle. Should Obama issue an executive order allowing the detention and waterboarding of all Republicans who support Bush/Cheney under the charge of treason for the way the American dream has been dismantled?— Phrossty
- Hey TPS: it's funny you quoting General "Betrayus"!! I guess he now fits your ideal. The FACT is, the subject should not be even discussed in public. When and if it's necessary, it will be done in secret. The jerks who released the photos at Abu Graib made all this public. I wonder how the Democrats will do in the next election if a dirty bomb goes off during their watch. How many will have to die before "all bets are off" and we take off the gloves with these people. What would Stalin do?— WriteWinger
- So tragic to watch the marginalized minority go from a "America does not torture" stand to "torture works if it saves my behind from the evil brown people." We prosecuted people for waterboarding "as torture." Yet the deniers in the Hate Americans First crowd don't care about things like "legal precedent" if it gets in the way of their hysterical bedwetting meltdown. They hate their fellow Americans so much, they are willing to destroy the moral foundation upon which this country was built and sacrifice our position within the world community as a leader for human rights and freedom. And so the pathetic bleating of the torture apologists continues... At least they're finally calling it "torture."— E.Plebnista
- Freedom from torture is an inalienable human right. The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment, ratified by the United States and more than 130 other countries since 1984, forbids governments from deliberately inflicting severe physical or mental pain or suffering on those within their custody or control. Yet torture continues to be practiced around the world by rogue regimes whose cruel methods match their determination to crush the human spirit. Beating, burning, rape, and electric shock are some of the grisly tools such regimes use to terrorize their own citizens. These despicable crimes cannot be tolerated by a world committed to justice. The most compelling evidence of all lies in the stories told by torture survivors, who are recounting a vast array of sadistic acts perpetrated against the innocent. Their testimony ... reminds us that similar cruelties are taking place behind the closed doors of other prison states. The United States is committed to the world-wide elimination of torture and we are leading this fight by example. I call on all governments to join with the United States and the community of law-abiding nations in prohibiting, investigating, and prosecuting all acts of torture and in undertaking to prevent other cruel and unusual punishment. I call on all nations to speak out against torture in all its forms and to make ending torture an essential part of their diplomacy. No people, no matter where they reside, should have to live in fear of their own government. Nowhere should the midnight knock foreshadow a nightmare of state-commissioned crime. The suffering of torture victims must end, and the United States calls on all governments to assume this great mission. - President George W. Bush, 6/23/2003 - will we answer history's call?— E.Plebnista
- Comment removed.
- Why the neocons think the torture issue is a winner is beyond me. But then again, these folks thought Sarah Palin was smart. lol....— chasing history
- Comment removed.
- Think globally-Act Locally. It is more than a slogan. John Yoo writes a monthly column in the Inky. give him one column to explain himself and then refuse to publish any of his material again. Don't give evil a soapbox, no matter how banal it may be.— parodox
- "AGAIN, water boarding is NOT "torture." “And yet the USA prosecuted Yukio Asano for war crimes for engaging in it. As much as you message board macho men would like us to believe it would be no biggie for you to withstand it, and besides the Bushies only did it to really, really bad guys, water board IS torture and an extremely ineffective way to solicit vital information, as virtually everyone who's experienced in interrogations will tell you. But the enhanced interrogation advocates in the Bush administration weren't interested in the opinions of interrogation experts, they had their false confession and its prevention folks and that's what they went with. And as the memos continued to pour in from the various branches of services about its ineffectiveness and its moral hazard, they continue to ignore those concerns and press ahead with it. This story isn't going away, no matter how often the "It ain't torture, besides they deserved it" crowd screams it. I wish you, will, would include a link to the Senate Armed Service Committee report every time you blog about it, which I also hope is often. http://armed-services.senate.gov/Publications/Detainee%20Report%20Final_April%2022%202009.pdf— GreyHippie
Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.
E-mail Will by clicking here.
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