Sunday Roundup

So, is waterboarding a deal-breaker? It clearly is for Chris Dodd, Patrick Leahy, and the other senators who vowed to vote no on the Mukasey nomination due to his refusal to say whether the controversial torture technique is illegal. But the AG designate's unwillingness was apparently not enough to dissuade Judiciary Committee members Chuck Schumer and Dianne Feinstein, whose support virtually guarantees Mukasey's confirmation. In announcing her decision, DiFi delivered the week's lamest endorsement. "First and foremost," she said, "Michael Mukasey is not Alberto Gonzales." Wow, with credentials like that, how could you not make him America's top cop? Bush defended Mukasey's waterboard waffling, saying "he had not been briefed" on the technique. Allow us: Kaj Larsen blogs about having himself waterboarded for Mukasey's edification.