Signs of Sanity in the Senate?

Well, it's official, the United States Senate is against torture:

WASHINGTON – Nearly 18 months after images of abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison stunned the world, the US Senate voted Wednesday to clarify rules that govern the military's treatment of detainees.

The amendment's overwhelming passage, despite objections from the White House, marks a rare congressional challenge to President Bush as commander-in-chief at a time when public support for his presidency is at a low.

It also puts Congress on record demanding a standard of humane treatment for detainees, even in the context of an all-out war on terror.

In the end, what tipped the vote was a call for clarity.

"We have to clarify that this is not what the United States is all about. This is what makes us different from the enemy we are fighting," said Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona, who sponsored the amendment that bars cruel and inhumane treatment of detainees.

I'm not certain which bothers me more, that US actions have made such a specific declaration necessary, and they have, or that BushCorp™ opposes the amendment:

White House officials say that legislation would limit the president's ability to carry out the war on terrorism.

This of course raises the question of whether the admin could be even more ineffective than it currently is. It also implies that the culture which led to Abu Ghraib was far from accidental, and that it was sourced at BushCorp™'s highest levels.

McCain is, of course, laying the groundwork for a 2008 presidential bid, and more power to him. But I have to wonder, with all the incompetence and corruption of W's reign becoming part of the public consciousness (about 10 months too late), will congressional Republicans begin to see King George as a liablity they can no longer live with?

Will there come a realization that another 3 years of BushCorp™ failure will so corrupt the public perception of the Republican party that, for its own sake, they must get rid of him?

The Republicans must either continue to support W and sink with him in 2006 and 2008, or will they instead take their medicine and impeach him as soon as any remotely credible excuse comes along?

From a political standpoint I'd call the current situation a win/win for Democrats.

If only the rest of the country didn't have to go along for the ride.