Torture Poll Finds Americans Mixed, Supreme Court Whispers, and Bristol Palin on Abstinence

Our daily look at stories and topics that are lighting up the Internets:

Pure Torture

Torture prosecutions are a nonstarter politically, opines Chris Cillizza at The Fix. Why? Because polls show Americans aren't so sure they're against torture, as CNN's Political Tracker reports. And you'd better have a darned good idea of where you relocate those Gitmo detainees before the Democrats will play along on shutting its doors. As Peter Roff argued on Thomas Jefferson Street, this is a huge slap for Obama. OK, want to talk nonstarter? RedState's got Arlen Specter flip-flopping on card check. Seems he can't win as a Democrat without it. Of course, with no more boogeyman, Democrats who don't like card check themselves—but could blame Specter for blocking it—might have to tell unions the truth.

Sweet Nothings on the Supreme Court

Steve Benen has his heart almost kinda warmed by not strictly gay-hating remarks from Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama on the possibility of a homosexual Supreme: "I'm not inclined to think [being gay is] an automatic disqualification." Of course, anyone looks liberal compared to GOP Chief Deputy Whip John Thune. TPM reports on a whisper campaign against Sonia Sotomayor, seen as a front-runner for David Souter's Supreme Court seat. Like, what's she ever done.

Stimulus Hogs

Bernie Madoff's silence seems like hypocrisy to his secretary. She's singing loudly ... about massage parlors and lewd remarks, mostly. Jim Geraghty shares a report of willy-nilly spending in Menlo Park, Calif., and wonders whether the stimulus is to blame. What's going on with bank stress tests? Your guess might be as good as any, says The Plank.

... Meanwhile ...

They've got some rough roads in South Africa ... Are you paying attention? ... And finally, a sideshow in slideshow form: Bristol Palin's abstinence campaign.