Welcome to the Best of the Left Podcast with clips today from the Daily Show, Rachel

Maddo, Brave New Films, Counter-Spin, The Colbert Report, The Young Turks, and Countdown.

How long ago a young idealist came to Washington and announced that this time things would be different. No more secrecy, no more lives, no more man-sized safes.

Let me say it as simply as I can. Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency.

It's all on the table, baby. Sunshine is the best disinfectant. Get a trade in Air Force One for Wonder Woman's Invisible Jet.

Nothing's off limits for this administration's transparency.

Now what am I going to do with all these frames?

You know what I know what must have happened? Obama was all like, I'm going to release these photos.

And then some guy was like, sir, here are the photos. And then Obama was like,

put these away in a man's eye safe.

Actually, the president's reasoning was a little more rational.

The most direct consequence of releasing them, I believe, would be to further inflame anti-American opinion and to put our troops in greater danger.

That's reasonable. I can accept that. It does crystallize the dilemma we find ourselves in though when we go down this whole torture and abuse road.

Torturing detainees is allegedly the only way to get certain information that will make us safer.

But pictures of us doing it puts us in the very harm's way. I guess it gives us only two choices.

All right, first choice. What would happen if we stopped torturing people?

What some don't understand, evidently, is that we're at war and it's a different kind of war.

Somebody we've got in our control may have information that could help us stop and attack.

The ticking time by the scenario, the possibility of a cell of alchydin in the midst of one of our own cities with a nuclear weapon.

You do everything you can to save this nation.

The use of these techniques against these terrorists made us safer.

And you use all of your assets to go after the enemy. I guess that settles it. We'll just have to stop taking pictures of it.

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