This would almost be humorous if it weren't so disgusting and infuriating. First we get to listen to President Obama go on the air and make excuses for the people who tortured prisoners in the aftermath of 9-11 and call them "patriots" as Digby took him to task for here:

He called the torturers patriots...:

... and then lectured the American people that we are not to be "sanctimonious" about it because they had a tough job.

...We tortured some folks. We did some things that were contrary to our values.

I understand why it happened. I think it’s important when we look back to recall how afraid people were after the Twin Towers fell and the Pentagon had been hit and the plane in Pennsylvania had fallen, and people did not know whether more attacks were imminent, and there was enormous pressure on our law enforcement and our national security teams to try to deal with this. And it’s important for us not to feel too sanctimonious in retrospect about the tough job that those folks had. And a lot of those folks were working hard under enormous pressure and are real patriots.

These "folks" are big on sending messages. What "message" do you suppose that sent? When a patriot has a tough job we can't expect him to adhere to the law? Or norms? Or even basic morality? Looks like it. Good to know.

I remember reading somewhere during the whole torture debate that the right thing to do was to keep torture officially "illegal" for deniability but do it anyway and then throw yourself on the mercy of the people afterwards telling them that it was necessary to protect them. That way you could keep up the pretense that we were a civilized nation while being allowed to "take the gloves off." For our own good, mind you. Looks like that's the new SOP.

And you want some sanctimony? I've got some for you right here:

[W]hen we engaged in some of these enhanced interrogation techniques, techniques that I believe and I think any fair-minded person would believe were torture, we crossed a line. And that needs to be -- that needs to be understood and accepted. And we have to, as a country, take responsibility for that so that, hopefully, we don't do it again in the future.

sanc·ti·mo·ny [sangk-tuh-moh-nee]
noun
1.
pretended, affected, or hypocritical religious devotion, righteousness, etc.

What exactly is taking responsibility? Calling the torturers patriots and making excuses for them? It looks like that's all we're going to get from President Obama. Read on...

So naturally in response we're treated to Darth Cheney's fifth draft deferment spouting this nonsense on Faux "news." From Fox's blog: Liz Cheney: 'Obama Going After American Patriots While Crises Erupts':

In a press conference Friday afternoon, President Obama spoke about enhanced interrogation techniques used by the Bush-Cheney administration after 9/11.

“Even before I came into office, I was very clear that in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, we did some things that were wrong. We did a whole lot of things that were right, but we tortured some folks. We did some things that were contrary to our values,” the president said.

Tonight on Hannity, Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, responded to President Obama’s remarks.

“You’ve got crises erupting around the world and he’s expending [...] more aggressive activity in targeting and going after patriots, heroes, CIA officers and others who kept us safe after 9/11,” she said. “He’s lying about what they did, he’s slandering them. He went to Cairo and did it in 2009. Today, he did it from the podium of the Oval Office. It’s a disgrace. It’s despicable.”

Cheney went on to say that President Obama’s “we try” attitude isn’t good enough when the United States is facing threats of global terror.

This is what happens when there's no accountability for their actions. Not only are none of them sitting in a jail cell now, but you've got their family ranting and raving at you after you try to placate them. Bravo.

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