On torture

Some good news from the debate, as Melissa Rogers notes was John McCain's rejection of torture. :

"MCCAIN: . . . . [W]e've got to -- to make sure that we have people who are trained interrogators so that we don't ever torture a prisoner ever again.

LEHRER: Two minutes, Senator Obama.
OBAMA: . . . . I give Senator McCain great credit on the torture issue, for having identified that as something that undermines our long-term security -- because of those things, we, I think, are going to have a lot of work to do in the next administration to restore that sense that America is that shining beacon on a hill."

As I noted on Melissa's blog, the one problem with this is the implication that the problem was the interrogator's training, and not the moral bankruptcy of our civilian leadership. I know McCain doesn't want to call Bush out on this--at least partially because there are many parts of his base that approve of torture--but that was a bit of sleight of hand, and I wish Obama would have made that point. Also, he could have pointed out (though he was trying to be conciliatory) that McCain had also helped Bush retain the right to authorize torture through the CIA.