Are his lips moving?

One of the latest ideas tossed into the public square like a grenade is that Obama had better not stop using torture because that is what has kept America free from attacks since 9-11. Never mind that it was the Bushies who refused to consider during the spring and summer of 2001 that such an attack might happen. And never mind that our use of torture has inflamed extremists, which has made terrorist attacks more likely, not less. It is long past the point when many people, especially me, assume that if a Republican is moving his lips he is distorting the truth.

Which is why this week's Newsweek cover story, written by Stuart Taylor Jr. and Evan Thomas, is a disappointment. Cheney has expanded presidential powers and the article explores whether Obama can afford to turn his back on those powers. Alas, they seem to take the GOP point of view. One example is the FISA law. The article says FISA needed updating and Obama was wise to vote for it in spite of previously saying he opposed it. Obama will need those powers. Though it is likely the FISA law needed updating to accommodate new technology the particular way Bush demanded it be updated should have been opposed. The article didn't make that distinction.

However, the article does say that even if Obama uses the new powers (or demands even more), he will do so in a way far different from Bush and Cheney who have been obsessed with secrecy and contemptuous of Congress.