There was a lot of excitement last week as the Bush administration supposedly capitulated to Senator John McCain’s demands and agreed to ban torture, even among progressive groups. I, for one, can’t find much room for enthusiasm, mainly because the White House has never actually admitted that the use of torture is a problem that needs solving. In spite of the fact that there are more accounts of torture reported seemingly every day, the White House has continued to push the line that we have never sanctioned torture, and that any misconduct that did take place was perpetrated by “bad apples.” President Bush of all people should know that in any 12 step program, the first step is admitting there’s a problem, and the White House hasn’t gotten there yet.