That being said, I wish that someone would point out/ask/remind him about the following:
1. The Navy SEALS who took down UBL voluntarily subject themselves to ongoing training/conditioning that is far, far MORE stressful and physically painful than waterboarding.
2. If McCain was a federal judge, and selected to preside over a trial involving torture, he waould have to recuse himself, given his wartime experience. He should consider recusing himself from this debate.
3. Remember during the Bush presidency, when the debate over so-called "torture" first started, McCain said that he would be OK with any form of torture if we mad an immediate need to find a dirty nuke concealed somewheres in the US. The fact that he is OK with this indicates that he knows that "enhanced interrogation" does work, and that even if he doesn't like it, he'll go along with it under some situations. So, it's NOT OK if it saves 100 lives, but perfectly acceptable if it saves 10,000? That removes the moral suasion factor from his argument.
You bring up good points about McCain’s past history regarding torture, and it’s relationship to this story. But setting that aside, the fact still remains McCain uses issues for his own benefit, and not because of their affect on American morals or what would best benefit America as a nation. Yes, he should recuse himself, but he doesn’t have the strength, not the desire to do so. That would not be in his best interest as he sees it. And therein lies McCain’s problem for us.