The issue here is simple politicking. As an incoming attorney general, it would be difficult, if not crippling to unequivocally state that water boarding is torture when Mukasey has no idea how much of it (likely lots) has been going on.

Why would anyone with a brain tie himself up in a knot like that when he does not know what is on the other side of Door #2? Setting character issues aside (we certainly should want an Attorney General who can stand up and say "this is wrong, morally and legally"), if he declared this torture to be "torture' the remainder of Mukasey's tenure would be spent staving off demands to prosecute and investigate, etc. Essentially, he would have to clean up a mess he didn't make, and would compromise his own resources. Do we want a dummy for AG?

If Congress truly wants an answer, aside from declaring it illegal (which arguably has been done already) the Senate could appoint an independent committee to investigate the matter, and prosecute accordingly.

This is an issue of practicality. The Democrats are simply grandstanding (as much of Congress seems to be these days - see, for example the Yahoo! hearings).

If permitting an Attorney General who believes in water boarding is so important as to prevent nomination for a period of 1+ a bit years, then why isn't a committee investigating the issue already? Enough with the show, Either approve him or don't; let's move on.

Not that Congress is any arbiter of morality, I agree with you there.

"As an incoming attorney general, it would be difficult, if not crippling to unequivocally state that water boarding is torture when Mukasey has no idea how much of it (likely lots) has been going on."

If a prospective Attorney General doesn't know what torture is, he shouldn't be confirmed as Attorney General. Mukasey is demonstrating a lack of moral clarity that should disqualify him.

However, if the Congress has no balls or is not willing to uphold the constitution AND the Attorney General is not interested in checking the power of the POTUS while the SCOTUS is in lock step with said POTUS, the only recourse for the people is revolution. Given that, it is astounding how politicians of both parties just throw the damn Constitution out the window just because 19 lucky bastards killed 3000 really unlucky innocents 6 years ago. We are a nation of 300 million people, get serious here folks.

Whether you like it or not, Zack represents where America is going. Principle, the constitution, rule of law -- no longer register. Everything is politics now, though in the heat of debate you only call it politics when your opponents do it. When you do it, it's "protecting America". Patriotism, once the last refuge of scoundrels, is now the first. The law is what the Red Queen says it is, or the VP, or the pundits on Fox. Even judges know that. Be nice to Zack -- he might be your next Deputy Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security.