Giuliani Says Gov’t Needs “Flexibility” on Waterboarding

ABC News’ Jan Simmonds Reports: In Nashua, New Hampshire, today Rudy Giuliani maintained his position that waterboarding may not be torture after he was asked if he had wanted to re-articulate his position.

Holding his ground, Giuliani said "the way it’s defined is very very disturbing" but pressed that the federal government needs "flexibility" on this issue.

"The reality is it depends on the circumstances," Giuliani said today. "It even depends on the circumstances in which you do it. It depends on the gravity of it."

"You can’t keep this country safe if you don’t allow for that flexibility," he also noted.

Referring to comments made earlier this week by Admiral Robert J. Natter (Ret.), who is also a senior military advisor to his campaign, Giuliani warned that "political campaigns are not the way in which we should be making these very delicate definitions."

The former mayor and United States Prosecutor did leave the door open for Congress to pass legislation making waterboarding illegal, but added there was likely a reason they hadn’t already.

"If Congress wants to make waterboarding illegal, they should do it. But they haven’t… twice. So there must be a reason for that," he said.

Democrats and Republicans have been critical of Giuliani’s position including John McCain, R-Ariz., the competing Republican presidential candidate and former prisoner of war.

While appearing at a family restaurant in New Hampshire, the national Republican frontrunner also continued to react to last night’s Democratic debate in Philadelphia, specifically the performance of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.

"Last night she did something I have never seen before," said Giuliani referring to Clinton’s much debated response on whether she supported the plan of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, D-N.Y., to give driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.

"Sure she is known for taking one position with one audience and another position with another audience — people know that about her. What they didn’t know is that she can take two actual positions in front of the same audience, within one minute. And it wasn’t a tough question."

"Hillary’s been getting away with this," he later added. "Going down south, using a southern accent. Coming up north, taking one position, taking another. Well she finally got really caught at it last night."