George W. Bush has written a book, and by the critical responses, a fairly good one. Pretty impressive for a guy who could never quite master the word “nuclear.”

The big news associated with this, though, is his outright admission, — both in the book “Decision Points,” and a related interview — of authorizing waterboarding as an “enhanced interrogation technique.”

He defended his choice, saying that the lawyers advising him assured him that it was, indeed, not a violation of the anti-torture laws; and “I’m not a lawyer.”

He went on to say that the technique was only used on three people, and the information gained from it’s use led directly to the capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a noted leader of al-Qaida, as well as stop several violent terrorist plots.

Our board had mixed thoughts on this, just as pretty much everyone else out there is almost certain to.

It’s downright Machiavellian to justify waterboarding by saying, “Well it worked, didn’t it,” but the president was assured by trusted advisors that the technique wasn’t something to be avoided; and, well, war isn’t pretty.

When it comes right down to it, most people will go to pretty great lengths to protect the people they love and care about, and fake-drowning is well within that range. Regardless of his actual ability to, you know, be president, we don’t doubt that he does love the United States and all it’s citizens.

Regardless of the mentality or results, waterboarding is tantamount to drowning. The majority of the board agrees that we can rationalize all we want, but ultimately torture is torture, and so is drowning. We, as a country, have the means to set an example and should do everything within our power to do so.

However, that’s not all of the noteworthy content that the former president has been putting out.

The book, as well as his interview, goes over everything from his first thoughts upon hearing about 9/11 — utter rage — to his chastisement at the hands of the always exemplary Kanye West, calling it maybe the lowest point of his presidency. It’s surprising he’s cognizant of West, but it’s absolutely mind-boggling to think that a former leader of the free world says the worst moment of his tenure was being chastised during a telethon by a rapper with an ego big enough to think he can pull off shutter shades.

And the surprises keep coming. Bush keeps from criticizing the current president, which is in keeping with the overall bipartisan feel that the book exudes, even acknowledging that his president ended on an ugly note. When asked about his lack of comment, he gives the impression of identifying with a president who has low approval rating.

All in all, the book has done a very good job of bringing Bush back into the public eye. Not only that, it paints a very three-dimensional portrait of a man who many thought of as, quite honestly, a simpleton.

Regardless of our differing opinions on his presidency and varying degrees of disagreement with some of his policies, we were surprised at the openness, honesty and character put into the book and the interviews surrounding it.