Anti-Anti-Torture Reynolds

A reader writes:

"I'd rather be waterboarded than put in the general population of a high security prison." Such is a quote Glenn Reynolds links to, while wondering how this could ever be interpreted as a pro-torture position.

It's vintage Reynolds - in fact, vintage propaganda in general - in that it clearly expresses one opinion yet can be defended by the speaker, intellectually, as saying the opposite. A person who decries both torture and the conditions in high security prisons will have no difficulty expressing both thoughts, together. "Torture is wrong, period. And the conditions in some American prisons may be even worse."

That Glenn Reynolds, a published author, was unable to think of his own equally-clear formulation is not possible. Choosing his words carefully, he instead posted a formulation that neatly promotes the Cheney line:  waterboarding isn't really that bad. It's Reynolds at his best, or worst, depending on whether your preference is for propaganda or the truth.