Afghanistan Pushes Back

Then all he offered up were the usual, vague, trust-us talking points, leaving all of those questions -- even including why they did it-- entirely unclear.

"The CIA program involves tough customers and tough interrogations --- but it is entirely legal and proper," Cheney said. "The procedures are designed to be safe in full compliance with this nation's laws and treaty obligations. They've been carefully reviewed by the Department of Justice. . . .

"No nation in the world takes human rights more seriously than the United States. The policies of our country comply with our law, which prohibits torture. We're proud of our country and what it stands for. We expect all who serve America to conduct themselves with honor. And we enforce the rules."

How can he say that tactics known to have been used in CIA prisons and Guantanamo -- such as waterboarding, the use of dogs to terrify detainees, sleep deprivation and stress positions -- aren't torture? And how can he condemn what happened at Abu Ghraib, but ignore the evidence that it didn't happen in a vacuum -- indeed, that it can be linked directly to his own office?

Cheney also noted that "as the President has made clear, the program has uncovered a wealth of information that has foiled specific attacks -- information that has on numerous occasions made the difference between life and death." But neither Bush nor Cheney have put forth a shred of evidence to support that assertion.

Karl Rove Watch

Time reporter Massimo Calabresi reviews what's happened to Karl Rove in the year since he left the White House under a cloud of scandal and failure.

"In private, Rove speaks regularly with the McCain campaign, where his former protégé Steve Schmidt is now the manager. He's also dialed in at the Republican National Committee, run by Mike Duncan, another former aide. And he still lunches two or three times a month with President Bush.

"But Rove has also been busy refashioning his public persona. A regular commentator for Fox News and an occasional columnist for the Wall Street Journal and Newsweek, Rove is the undisputed chairman of the Republican commentariat, delivering what his friend and former Clinton administration lawyer Lanny Davis calls 'balanced, intelligent and sometimes even-handed' analysis from his lofty media perches.

"All told, as the sprint to November gets under way, Rove's influence is as great or greater than any other private player in America."

Assured that the McCain campaign has now embraced his attack-dog campaign tactics, Rove appears to focused on making sure it doesn't abandon his divide-and-conquer political strategy.

Robert Novak writes in an opinion column that there is strong support within McCain's presidential campaign for picking former Democratic Sen. Joseph Lieberman as his running mate. . . .

"McCain's top strategists argue that the Bush coalition that won the last two presidential elections is dead and must be replaced by a new one that extends to the left, as Lieberman would. Bush strategists disagree, asserting that McCain is getting around 90 percent of the old Bush vote and can win the election with a few moderates added in."