Another Perspective on Torture in the Campaign

We liked what both Sens. McCain and Obama had to say about interrogation and detainee treatment issues at the first debate, and we hope that if the topic comes up at tonight’s VP debate, we hear similarly strong anti-torture comments from both sides. But for a different take on this issue in the campaign, check out this piece at cbsnews.com:

“Why should the average fellow care about the treatment of detainees when gas prices have doubled and his 401k value has dropped in half? Why should a hockey mom care about the procedures employed by military prosecutors when banks are refusing to loan money, home values are way down and bad mortgages litter the landscape?

For a long time, the legal aftermath of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 was an enormous part of the political conversation in Washington and around the country. That is no longer the case. And neither candidate seems particularly troubled by it.”

Mr. Cohen’s point is well-taken, but it seems to us that these issues have deservedly received more airtime during this election than in 2004, and we’ve been heartened to see how it seems to have become more politically viable – compared to 2004 – to take a strong anti-torture stance, as both candidates have.