It's a Start...

The White House and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) reached agreement today on a measure that would ban torture and limit interrogation tactics in U.S. detention facilities, a provision that the Bush administration had strongly resisted but that received broad support in Congress.

The agreement, announced after President Bush met with McCain and Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) in the White House, came a day after the House overwhelmingly approved language supported by McCain that would prohibit "cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment" of anyone in the custody of the U.S. government. The Senate approved the provision by a lopsided margin earlier.

"We've sent a message to the world that the United States is not like the terrorists," McCain said, "but what we are is a nation that upholds values and standards of behavior and treatment of all people, no matter how evil or bad they are." He said this would "help us enormously in winning the hearts and minds of people throughout the world in the war on terror."...

Speaking to reporters outside the White House afterward, McCain said the next step is to put his amendment's language in the House-Senate conference report of the fiscal 2006 defense appropriations bill.

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That there even had to be extended negotiations to take this step is incredible. It took Sen. McCain's own experience as a POW to begin forcing the issue, although his rosy outlook on how the world will view us may be a little premature.

As my mother often said, "Actions speak louder than words."