McCain Was Against Torture Before He Was For It...

[elehhhhna]

Straight talk on torture ends in Rose Garden

Wednesday, March 12

Sen. John McCain, then fighting for his political life, was rather outspoken on the subject of waterboarding. He used the subject to differentiate himself from Mitt Romney during the Nov. 28, 2007, YouTube debate, saying: "It's in violation of the Geneva Conventions. It's in violation of existing law. And, Governor, let me tell you, if we're going to get the high ground in this world and we're going to be America that we have cherished and loved for more than 200 years, we're not going to torture people."

Yet his vote on the bill that George W. Bush just vetoed was "No," joining 42 other Republicans, one Democrat and one independent in opposing a ban on waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods.

For a man who prides himself on straight talk, this seems peculiar. At the least, he should be voting to ban this practice, given how passionate he sounded back in November. Since he is the Republican presidential nominee, one could even expect him leading a more moderate wing of his party to join the majority in the senate in banning the practice. Instead, we see him abandoning the idealistic values of the underdog campaigner, and taking up the Republican party line.

http://www.startribune.com/opinion/letters/16487076.html

[KamaAina]

1. This would be the same McCain who was himself tortured by the North Vietnamese, right?

This is what I'd like to see: a man who sticks to his priciples in the White House. :sarcasm: