(L) Elite Exceptionalism

The current "torture debate" is mostly a fiction of the (mainstream) corporate media:

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/04/24-0

Update: 4.30.09

Guilty-as-anyone-could-be Condoleezza Rice nervously invokes a variety of Nixonian Presidential exceptionalism ("If George W. Bush authorized it, then it can't be illegal"):

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/condi-rice-pulls-a-nixon_b_193379.html

Update: 5.1.09

Here's an intriguing study:

A recent national survey finds that the more frequently Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support torture. Furthermore, those not affiliated with any organized religion are least likely:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/30/religion.torture/

Update: 5.9.09

Of course, elite exceptionalism is an instance of "American exceptionalism" ("when we do it, it's different or better"):

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/05/08-16