Rachel Maddow: Prof. Turley Reaction to Obama Press Conf. Torture Comments

[Hissyspit]

Run time: 08:01 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3w65Q2XFGA   Posted on YouTube: April 30, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: April 30, 2009 By DU Member: Hissyspit Views on DU: 4747

 
MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show - April 29, 2009: "Jonathan Turley and Rachel discuss Obama's troubling remarks in his 100-days-in-office press conference about the Bush Administration's torture program. Plus Jay Bybee speaks!"

[Dinger]

1. Turley Is Extremely Intelligent, Independent, And Takes No Prisoners

No pun intended.

[Thrill]

14. Yeah. I noticed his nonsense, during the Clinton stuff

He's an attention whore.

[Dinger]

20. I Don't Think He's An "Attention Whore" (nt)

[bjobotts]

2. Bybee writes toture memos as requested and then gets life time judgeship

[bjobotts]

3. Bush needed legal justification to torture as he was trying to get any info connecting Sadam to 9/11

[bjobotts]

4. So he could have his war.He was in a hurry and torturing everybody

[bjobotts]

5. Bybee just wanted a lifetime appointment as a federal appeals judge

[bjobotts]

6. Bush got memos for legal cover...Bybee got life time appmnt. The should both get prison

[spiritual_gunfighter]

7. Disappointing indeed

President Obama calling torture a "technique" lends creedence to the tactic, no matter how you look at it. Turley is dead on as usual. I understand how "politcally poisonous" this could be for the Obama administration and that may be why Obama is answering these questions this way. I found it a little strange that he didnt directly answer Jake Tapper's question on "Do you think Bush authorized torture" when he asked him more than once. But again this could prove to be a mindfield politically for him. But that is really no excuse, hopefully Holder feels differently about this and will take the hit politcally for Obama when the Republicans pounce on Obama for pursuing this if he chooses to. Which at this point I don't think he is going to. David Axelrod was pretty adamant with Keith that it is "time to look forward" when pressed on this. I really don't have much hope at this point that anything is going to happen, and these Bush criminals are going to get away with a war crime.

[ro1942]

8. who cares

who cares what the repuks do and i would rather have 4 years of doing the right things than 8 years of whats expedient

[flyarm]

17. I care ..because it was in my name..Americans torture..get it??

and as a 33 yr flight crew who traveled my entire adult lifetime , I understand that this puts a bullseye on each and every American that travels out of this country, either for business or leisure!

The worlds people don't see it as democratci or republican..they see the illegal torture as being done by Americans..can you even attempt to understand that?????????

[mod mom]

16. I agree w Turley & Maddow that this needs to be prosecuted, but I don't get their gripe

w Obama. Obama admitted we used torture. I fully understand why he wants to leave the indictment of the former (illegitimate-of course) executive branch to the courts. It's not his role as president to push for these crimes to be prosecuted. We all screamed at the politicalization of the DoJ during the bu$h regime. The fact that he is not pushing Holder seems to me to be a good thing.

What am I missing here?

Obama has a full serving of major issues to deal with on his plate. Let him take the country forward in dealing with the economy, the wars, terrorism, swine flu and the rest and let the DoJ and the courts address the past crimes. Why not wait to see if the DoJ will indeed act before harping on Obama.

Why can't we agree w Turley & Rachel & the President?

[Titonwan]

9. You are looking at two patriots of this Country, folks.

My mother is a lifetime Liberal and she gives Obama an "A" on his first one hundred days and was shocked when I gave him a "D" (like Russ Feingold did).
She listens to CNN and actually thinks they tell the truth because she (and I) remember Walter Cronkite and William R. Murrow. Those days are gone and big corporations own the
Banks, News and Congress. Apparently they've got huge stock in Barack Obama too. I want to see the spin they put on the whole world being wrong about our "exceptionalism" in not
adhering to Article Six of the Constitution (treaties are the supreme law of the land) and spitting on the treaties we've signed throughout the years. That should be RICH.
Barack is wrong and should be SHAMED into pushing Eric Holder into investigating these war crimes. Why are we even debating this? You already KNOW the answer- This IS a banana republic.

[emulatorloo]

11. Your mom was shocked at your "D" because she is not a "single issue" person

Giving Obama a "D" doesn't make a lot of sense if you look at the whole picture.

That is not to minimize the torture issue.

(However it is really up to Holder not Obama. Remember how we complained when Bush/Rove interfered with Dept of Justice)

[MasonJar]

10. Johnathan Turley needs to be called over to the White House for

a much needed consultation. Obama is on weak ground on the Buishista cover up and on the economic bailout, two of his biggest challenges. I do not care about the rest of his agenda if he will not abide by the law and the Constitution. The way to govern is to do what is right, not what will best promote your agenda. Obama has the opportunity to be an exceptional president, but he also has the choice to become just another enabler-in-chief.

[Thrill]

13. Obama is the President. Not a Prosecuter. Its Holder's decision

which is the correct protocol

[Thrill]

12. Turley is a troll.

[yodermon]

15. Obama cannot opine on the culpability of the prior administration.

To do so would be a de facto, a priori politicization of the entire investigation/prosecution process. It could even ruin the case.

Do you really want Dick Cheney acquitted because his defense gets to argue that the President (and thus the Justice Dept) had already publicly pre-judged him in his public comments, and the resulting media shit-storm??

Turley's right on the Constitutional aspects of this but has an absolute tin ear politically. Rachel probably knows better but she needs an angle for her show.

[EFerrari]

19. Correctly identifying torture as a crime is not a comment on the Bush administration.

[yodermon]

21. Yes it is.

Or at least Obama should proceed under that assumption, in an abundance of caution, until convictions are attained.
IMO.

[EFerrari]

22. I see what you're saying, though. The less he says, the better

and the less room for misstatements.

[AtomicKitten]

18. I disagree with Turley on this. Obama has already deferred to AG Holder re: illegality of torture

It would be inappropriate for him to refer to it as a "crime" as it would be a premature judgment, something he has already deferred to AG Holder.

Calling it "enhanced interrogation" made me chafe, and he corrected that last night by calling it by its name ... TORTURE.

Obama is taking the appropriate apolitical noninflammatory stance. I say keep the cattle prods at bay and let AG Holder do his job.

[EFerrari]

23. Objectively, torture is a crime. Whether it's Bush's crime or not

is a different matter. But, it might be too slippery a slope for Obama to try to straddle that difference.

[AtomicKitten]

24. It's a slope Pres. Obama needs to stay clear of since handing this off to AG Holder.

There is no argument about torture being a crime, but calling it a crime is something that will come from AG Holder as it is now under his purview.

It will behoove all of us to cool our jets and let this unfold in a deliberative manner, step by step, one foot in front of the other. A reckoning is on the horizon. Believe it.

[EFerrari]

25. From watching what Obama is doing, not saying, I do.

But I think that public pressure can only help just as pressure from Spain can only help Obama politically. If it's out of his hands, it's out of his hands.

[AtomicKitten]

26. Oh, I completely agree. Public pressure is a vital part of the discussion.

I rather like Spain sticking its neck out there because Pres Obama knows now if his administration doesn't move on this, if we do not honor our international obligations vis a vis treaties, then someone in the world body will move on it.

I rather like the odds of that kind of pressure!

Cheers. :hi: