Hey, you know that whole waterboarding deal? Where the CIA interrogates a terrorist or somebody like that by simulating drowning them, without actually drowning them? And nobody can agree on whether it’s torture or not, or exactly how evil it makes the Bush administration?

According to the Washington Post, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was briefed on the technique 5 years ago and raised no objections. In fact, of the 30 or so briefings the CIA has given on it to Senators and Congressmen on both sides of the aisle, only one lawmaker did object. Why didn’t the rest? Because:

“In fairness, the environment was different then because we were closer to Sept. 11 and people were still in a panic,” said one U.S. official present during the early briefings. “But there was no objecting, no hand-wringing. The attitude was, ‘We don’t care what you do to those guys as long as you get the information you need to protect the American people.’”

So it’s not really hypocrisy… it’s just that back then they wanted to protect America. But now, apparently, America doesn’t need protecting. Which seems weird, considering how the whole world is supposed to hate us. Details, details. The point is, the whole waterboarding debate has nothing to do with seizing on a hot-button issue to try to score political points. Whew.