I'm not clear - does Strick think that, if Clinton's lot went in for torturing people, that means it's not so bad if the Bush crowd do it?

A bit like saying "it's alright Nixon bombing Indochina, because Johnson did that stuff too?

Fair enough, anyone assuming that everything will automatically change if Bush gets thrown out would be a bit naive. But does anybody assume that? Getting rid of Bush would be a good first step towards sanity, (electing him would be a step over a precipice), but there'd still be a long way to go.