What Mitt should have said

Apparently in a recent debate Mitt Romney was asked if he believed that water boarding was torture. He hedged and refused to commit himself to an answer. McCain had a nice chance to rip into him.

I don’t know if waterboarding is torture either. And I don’t know if it is appropriate to answer questions if you don’t know the answer. Here’s what I wish he had said.

“I don’t know if water boarding is torture and I’m not prepared to make a statement right now on something that I don’t know. In fact, I think it is clear that we need to do some careful work to determine what is torture and what is not based on objective science and clear standards. However, I don’t have to know the answer right now: if there is any question about it being torture then we need to stop immediately. Our nation is meant to stand up as an example of respect for the dignity of human life and liberty. Any act that takes away from our ability to set such an example is not worth short term benefits that may be achieved by taking it.”