Not up for a vote

Stories like this increase my pessimism for the future of America:

A majority of Americans consider waterboarding a form of torture, but some of those say it's OK for the U.S. government to use the technique, according to a poll released Tuesday.

Asked whether they think waterboarding is a form of torture, more than two-thirds of respondents, or 69 percent, said yes; 29 percent said no.

Asked whether they think the U.S. government should be allowed to use the procedure to try to get information from suspected terrorists, 58 percent said no; 40 percent said yes.

In the procedure, water is used on restrained prisoners to make them feel like they are drowning.

The practice became an issue during the recent confirmation hearings for attorney general nominee Michael Mukasey, who has refused to categorically reject the practice.

And if a majority of Americans said waterboarding ISN'T torture and it's OK to use it, does that make it acceptable? At one time, a majority of Americans thought it was fine to own another human being. Even today, a slim majority see no problem with murdering humans before they draw their first breath. This is the result of relativism. If there is no objective truth, then norms are determined by the majority. Period.

By the way, Mukasey's testimony gives the impression he thinks the President can selectively ignore Congressional statues if he believes they interfere with his "Constitutional mandate to defend the country." The fact Congress often ignores its own laws doesn't mean we have to allow the growing Imperial Executive trend to continue to its logical conclusion. The Executive exists to carry out the laws, not interpret or ignore them.

The current political climate has accelerated dangerous concentration of powers in the Presidency, with tacit public support. A century ago, any president claiming to be above the law, or having the power to torture, would have been run out of Washington--IF he was lucky. Today, the need for a Leader to save us seems to trump all. Voting doesn't always result in legitimate outcomes. And yes, it CAN happen here. The question is, will it?