Why does George Bush want to torture people?

An excellent question. In this corner, the champeen, in red trunks, weighing a Ph.D from MIT and a John Bates Clark medal for smartest economist under the age of 40, Paul Krugman:

"So why is the Bush administration so determined to torture people? To show that it can.The central drive of the Bush administration -- more fundamental than any particular policy -- has been the effort to eliminate all limits on the president's power. Torture, I believe, appeals to the president and the vice president precisely because it's a violation of both law and tradition. By making an illegal and immoral practice a key element of U.S. policy, they're asserting their right to do whatever they claim is necessary."

In the other corner, the challenger, in blue trunks, and who the hell knows what his background is, Bob Herbert:

"The reason President Bush has been trying so frantically to get Congressional passage of his plan to interrogate and try terror suspects is that he needs its contorted interpretations of the law to keep important cases from falling apart, and to cover the collective keisters of higher-ups who may have authorized or condoned war crimes....One of the biggest concerns of the administration is the possibility of evidence emerging that could lead to charges of war crimes against high-ranking officials. The president and others in the administration have argued that they are seeking changes in the law in order to protect soldiers and ordinary interrogators in the field against war crimes accusations."

And the winner is: both are right! Plus a third motivation: if Congress passes Bush's proposed legislation, Bush can claim that he was not wrong to have authorized waterboarding etc. And if there's one thing we know about this man, it is that he does not like to admit he's wrong.