Tell Us Your Thoughts: Should Obama Play Nice, or Prosecute? Lessons from the Clinton Era

On the question of justice for Bush and his co-conspirators, the verdict was, "All signs point to No."

Support for Bush and his co-conspirators is, it must be remembered, fully a quarter of the adult population. But that number is deceptive. It comprises a huge majority of the most wealthy and powerful individuals in the country, the very same people who enjoy a stranglehold on the political process in Washington, if not elections this time around. Some cheerfully refer to them as "The Establishment."

The general popular outrage against Bush and his co-conspirators, coupled with what my Magic 8 Ball predicts, suggests that our current governing arrangements may leave something to be desired.

I could be wrong, of course.

force is the alternative to the rule of law. Force, dead meat in the streets, roaming bands of kidnappers, crime lords assassinating police, force and all it entails. The rule of law is the only sane option and that's why we pursue it. Wealth will be forfeit. Private armies will try to prevail, but even Blackwater cannot defend a Maginot line of gated and walled cities. Let's be clear. Bushco is taking food out of our childrens' mouths, killing our children, impeding their education, denying them healthcare, exposing them to poisons, and on and on. If you can stand your kids to be dead meat in the street for Bushco's profit, then overlook the last eight years. Many of the overlookers will die in suspicious suicides and airplane accidents, but "we must look ahead." B. S. If soldiers are imprisoned for following orders, those who issued the orders cannot be immune. Either we do this legally or the fates of Bush, Cheney, et al, will be much worse. The law is the best they can hope for. One doesn't kill all these people without consequences. And that's what Bush campaigned on--consequences. AH, SWEET IRONY.

As I understand it, the President-Elect favours a truth and reconciliation tribunal along the lines of the RSA and Rwanda, however as the USA prides itself on being a nation of laws, I (as an Australian) believe that these laws should be implemented. To me the most disgraceful thing has been the flouting of laws regarding the use of mercenaries, the Geneva Conventions and the denial of natural justice. If these abhorrent acts are not prosecuted the escutcheon of the United States will be forever stained.

Prosecute the sons of bitches and never let up. It is important to let the Reichwing know exactly what we have learned from them. Since we're stuck paying $15billion a month for the war in Iraq for the foreseeable future $50 million for a Ken Star-like witch hunt is nothing. And any time the reich wants to start with some spurrious crap--Obama's birth certificate, ties to Rezko, ties to Blagovich, tiesto Ayers... just opened up a new front in the war crimes investigation. Oh yes!

This is a no brainer. Prosecution is MANDATORY. In a nation governed by law, laws apply equally to all citizens, allowing for specific exceptions. To allow violations of laws to remain unchallenged is to signal unequivocally that our nation is not governed by the rule of law, but by the politics of expedience, especially if it is disguised as an attempt to avoid causing divisiveness. If no action is taken, we are literally telling schoolchildren to cheat on the exam (if they think they can get away with it), drivers to disregard traffic laws (if they can sweettalk the officer), and criminals to do what they want (if they can bribe the jury). This nation has already been fragmented by lawless corporatocracy and soulless war profiteering. Reestablishment of meaningful rule of law is the only path available that will reunite this former, and potentially future, great nation.

Obama should pursue exposing and punishing crimes of the Bush/ Cheney administration to the fullest extent. We are talking about protecting what little is left of our democratic process. It is not a matter of politics.

With the HUGE mess that Bush and his cronies are leaving Obama, it's understandable to a point that Obama thinks, "we have bigger issues to address then that of the previous administration". He couldn't be more wrong! One of the biggest mistakes made in this country's history was when Ford pardoned Nixon. It sent a message to all that the president is above the law. Reagan acted upon that knowledge and got away with it too. Now, Bush went even further and it appears he too will get away scott free. A CLEAR message must be made that the president is NOT above the law. The American citizens (and world community) need to see justice taken against Bush for his illegal and immoral conduct. Otherwise, what's next?

Yepper, fry them! It's all fine and dandy when they do it to the democrates, (Clinton) and I am not saying this to get equal justice, but to show no matter who you are it's equal under our system. The whole administration we have endured for 8 years has and is corrupt, frfy them I say, Fry them! Especially the top 5, starting with Bush

Absolutely! I certainly would rather we not have to go through this but I also would rather Bush was never Prez... They must be held accountable for their war crimes or what's the point of having laws?

Conservatives have assaulted Americans bank accounts with hatred. It is time for America to get tough on those who continue to try and re-fight the civil war against good non-prejudiced non-Conservative American workers. However there is one and only one morally justified excuse to offer civility to Republicans, and that is when something strategic may be gained. A truth and "reconciliation" is more important than prosecutions, and given the possibility of losing the truth and "reconciliation", it would be better strategy to pursue it and leave prosecutions alone - furthermore - come one, forget it, get real, repeat.

"O" was my last choice but I did vote for him because I felt we can hold his feet to the fire and he will react. McDementia was hopeless ! We must have Nuremberg style war crimes trails for these criminals in the bushit administration. They have killed,maimed,tortured,and worst of all "PROFITED" from the blood and guts of other human beings.They must roast in hell on a low slow flame.

Are you nuts? President Obama, more than anyone, is fully aware of the criminal activities of the bushies. He's a Constitutional scholar, for cryin' out loud. He also knows that ANY abrogation of his responsibility as Chief Exeutive and chief advocate of the American people will almost instantly destroy any good will we have toward him. He needs to be reminded of this on a daily basis.

I don't want to hear anything about uniting the country right now. I want to hear about justice FINALLY coming back to this country. This republican administration has done everything to destroy and rape America including torture and mass murder. I want every high ranking Bush administration bsturd tried, convicted, and executed for their war crimes. This would be unacceptable even for a third world country. But this is supposed to be America.

I wish I could say it as well as Paula Kline. If Obama does not come down like a hammer on the bush/cheney criminals then his administration will fail. THE COUNTRY IS TEETERING ON A KNIFE EDGE. It's now or never. I would like to add the input from a former right winger which is very telling and right on point to this issue: A former right-winger on why the left should never compromise its principles-- So are you all feeling the unity that Obama brought when he reached out to the other side and invited Rick Warren to speak at his inauguration? Don’t you see all the people coming together with those they disagree with? Just put a blindfold on and ignore all those people who are ripping each other’s throats out, and I am sure you will be able to have nice dreams about how a gay marching band can work with Rick Warren to unite America. Not seeing it? Well then I guess it is time to cut the sarcasm and get real; you can not achieve unity by reaching across the aisle on extremely divisive issues. Now I know that a lot of people are probably going to scream at me and tell me that we need to be able to work with people that we disagree with, but as a person who is a former right-winger I used to actually be that person who I now disagree with. I remember when Clinton and others in the DLC were trying to reach out to me, and I remember how I absolutely hated it when they would try to tell me that they were on my side. Those who tried to reach out to me only reinforced my right-wing beliefs, they were moving over to my side and as they moved over it appeared to be an acknowledgement that they recognized that my side was right. Yet at the same time that they seemed to acknowledge that my side was right they simultaneously would work to defeat us, and I resented it. What finally got me to switch sides was not the people who reached out to me, but rather it was the people who fought me. I switched sides because people presented me with information that proved very clearly to me that the positions I was taking were wrong, and when I realized that I was wrong I changed very rapidly. I did not take baby steps towards the center like everyone says people do when they convert because baby steps would have only made me a little bit less wrong, and when I realized that I was wrong it would have made absolutely no sense for me to become just a little bit less wrong. The left proved to me that they were right on the issues, and so I became a leftist rather than a centrist. Now to be clear I was never on the religious right so I never thought just like the Rick Warrens of the world, in fact I wasn’t even a Republican but rather I was a Libertarian. Take one look at the Libertarian Party platform however and you will see that it is in many ways an extreme right platform, and many of their positions are very similar to some of the most fringe positions of the Republican Party. While my former ideology may not fit perfectly with the ideology that Obama is trying to reach out to, it is close enough that I think I am qualified to speak about why Obama’s choice of Warren will be a complete failure when it comes to bringing right-wingers to his side. If you pay attention the right-wing is not happy about Warren speaking at the inauguration either, they are outraged that he would even consider speaking at the inauguration of a man that they despise. They don’t like that Obama is trying to pander to them because they feel like Obama is telling them that he is going to side with them, but at the same time they know that Obama will work to defeat much of their agenda. The right-wing hates it when Democrats try to reach out and pretend that they are on their side, sure they may like it when Democrats vote for their bills but apart from that they want absolutely nothing to do with any Democrat that tries to pander to them. When I was a right-winger the Democrats that I despised the most were Bill Clinton and Joe Lieberman. While Lieberman has gotten more popular with the right in recent years as he has kicked the Democrats to the curb, when I was on the right people did not like him at all. Take a look at the politicians who are most reviled by the right-wing and you will see that they are mostly centrist Democrats. You hear them condemn Bill and Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer, Diane Feinstein, Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and other centrists by calling them extreme liberals all the time. They don’t usually have nearly as much to say about the most progressive members of Congress such as Russ Feingold, Bernie Sanders, Henry Waxman, or Dennis Kucinich. Now don’t get me wrong they don’t like any of the progressives either, but they don’t tend to be nearly as loud about it because they don’t feel like the progressives are trying to pander to them. The word “liberal” actually usually means centrist when it comes from the mouth of Republicans, because it is the centrists that they often despise the most. Just look at who they are referring to when they talk about the “liberal media”, they are rarely referring to actual liberal publications such as The Nation or Mother Jones, instead they are usually referring to the networks such as CNN and CBS which tend to slant towards the center-right. Trying to reach out to the right-wing does not work, they hate it when people try to reach out to them unless the people reaching out plan on giving them everything that they want. Now of course the right-wing is not the only group that Obama is trying to reach out to, many people will say that it is not the right-wing they are trying to win over but rather the independents. Now it would be difficult to argue that a person like Rick Warren would be the type of person that would win independents over to Obama’s side, but we should still talk about independents because they certainly are a group that the centrists aim to win over. In order to find the issues that will win independents over we must first identify what an independent is. This is extremely difficult to do as independents tend to be, well independent. I actually consider myself to be an independent simply because of some sour experiences working with political parties in the past made me realize that I don’t really want to associate myself too closely with any party. Despite the fact that I am an independent however, I will campaign for some Democratic candidates from time to time and I would never even consider voting Republican, so I am clearly not the type of independent that will be won over if Democrats become more like Republicans. Many independents think much differently than I do, so let’s look at a much larger group of them. Many if not most other independents don’t even really know what they stand for, they may say they are looking for a place in between the two major parties but they are seldom able to describe exactly where that place is. To be blunt many independents quite simply don’t know very much about politics, they tend to be low information voters whose votes tend to be based more on personality than on issues. While independents can be all over the map politically, the ones who do know where they stand on the issues generally know that there really is no such thing as a moderate position on most issues, and they are going to have fairly consistent voting patterns. The independents who don’t know where they stand on the issues will continue to swap their votes between parties, generally going for the candidate whose personality they like the best. You are not going to win many of these people over by compromising your positions. In order to win people’s support you do not want to give any ground to the side that you know is wrong, you need to stand up for what you believe in and reject the agenda of your opposition strongly and firmly. If you want to win people over you need to show them that you believe passionately in what you are fighting for, and you need to show them why the other side is wrong. This is what won me over, and this is what I am convinced will win other people over. We don’t want to give the people who are on the wrong side of the issues any legitimacy, we need to point out the facts and prove to the American people that the facts prove that people like Rick Warren are dead wrong.

I agree with Barack that his upcoming administration has far more important things to deal with than prosecuting the current one. What would happen should he start an investigation into war-crimes, or even mere crimes? His agenda would be forgotten amidst cries of partisanship, revenge and "this isn't change we can believe in". Though I'd love to see Rove, Cheney et al in the stocks, my own motivation only would satisfy vengeance. However, the observations of many bloggers that I've read, that it's not about vengeance but about affirming the rule of law, are well-noted. Barack Obama has an Herculean task ahead of him. The legislature, even after the big wins in 2006, have shown no taste whatsoever in moving forward with impeachment or challenging no-show subpoenas. Why would it be any different with the next Congress? Justice can wait, imho. We have two wars going on, the financial system is in collapse, the planet's climate is changing, and new/old agressors are feeling their oats like Russia.

If some are exempt from the law because of wealth and privilege, the law is not to be respected by anyone for any reason. If Obama fails to prosecute lawbreakers he is an enabler of their crimes. These criminals must be held accountable as a warning to future leaders who might view the law as a hindrance to their actions. At some point the rule of law must be respected to preserve the American dream.

YES,YES,YES!!!! I AM TIRED OF SEEING CRIMES COMMITTED BY THE REPUBLICANS AND THEN HAVE THE DEMOCRATS OR INCOMING DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENT DECIDE TO OVERLOOK THESE CRIMES. THE PAST EIGHT YEARS THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION HAD COMMITTED SOME SERIOUS CRIMINAL ACTS AND ATTACKS ON THE CONSTITUTION. THE ILLEGAL WAR IN IRAQ AND THE DEATH OF THOUSANDS OF THEIR CITIZENS AND OVER 4,000 OF OUR SOLDIERS. MY DREAM IS TO SEE BUSH AND CHENEY BEHIND BARS. I DOUBT THE OBAMA CAMP OR THE DEMOCRATS HAVE THE BALLS TO DO JUST THAT.

Remember how the GOP and their talking heads were screaming daily that Clinton was not above the law for lying? This is so far beyond what Clinton did or didn't do and where is the outrage? They must be gone after! We need to know why George W. Bush was selected by that gang to run for president. We need to know everything that has gone on under Bush/Cheney. We want Justice! We have held our breath for 8 long years while that gang nearly destroyed our country and Constitution. They should be behind bars or even have the same fate that Saddam was given.

Prosecute to the fullest extent! If the new administration does nothing, then the law is truly an ass. Why should ANYone obey the law if it doesn't apply to the rich, the powerful or those in Government? The economy is important, but lets not forget that the Bush administration is also to blame for our present miserable economic mess. Trillions have been stolen by his cronies and we will probably never know the full amount. International Laws and Treaties have been broken and the rest of the world looks at us in disdain. I put prosecution up as number one priority.

If we have to abide by the law then they have to abide by law. No one is above the law..Think if another country invaded us and killed many of us just to steal our oil. How would you feel.. Americans dont do that and if they do then we clean up our own messes.We will clean up our partys and our govt...I know Obama has a mess on his hands, but this can not and will not be allowed to be forgotten.If we are to be respected again we have to clean up this corruption..

Investigate, indict, convict. Criminal acts have clearly been committed, and the guilty must be prosecuted. It is bad enough that we Americans have let these people torture and murder in our name. We now must face the world and atone for what these misguided fools have caused and the crimes they have committed.

If Ford had not been a total and complete patsy, he would have never pardoned Nixon. That one act allowed a cabal of criminally insane thugs to take over our legislature, our executive office, our judicial branch, our justice department, our courts throughout the nation, and all international and national corporate business in this country. That one act may well have killed this Republic. All for greed. All for greed. And slaughtered and destroyed millions of innocents in its wake. All for greed. All for greed. If Obama does not prosecute these criminally insane misanthropes to the fullest extent of the law, in every category they are guilty: treason, war crimes, crimes against humanity, illegal business practices, subverting the law, and the list is damn near endless, he will prove to be what his choice of Rick Warren indicates that he is. He is a patsy, a tool, a puppet of the Master's. Until we as a nation stand up and say unbridled GREED is a mental illness and those who hoard money and fight to gain power to keep it hoarded and to get more, we are really doomed. We have no problem pointing to the increasingly obese and saying they are 'gluttons' and have to be treated, no more insurance for them!!! Well, the same can be said about power and greed mongers. These people are mentally deranged, no more place for them in a healthy functioning society. And lock them away. When they are 'healed' they will not be allowed government jobs, or the opportunity to become management or higher level. They cannot be trusted with the welfare of our nation or with the responsibilities of big business. Just as gamblers, and alcoholics have to give up their vice, so do these seriously deranged predators of the innocent and beautiful. GREED IS A MENTAL ILLNESS as bad as any serial killer or pedophile. Look at the effects it has wrought on our world.

I read John W. Dean's "Worse than Watergate" in 2004. I had already suspected the severity of the secret presidency, the lies, the outright slap in the face of our great nation's Constitutional Law. But why did I feel so alone? Why except when reading blogs from BuzzFlash did it seem all of America slept, or simply consumed themselves in any other matter and have absolutely no concern for the direction Rove, Cheney, Rumsfield and Bush (in that order) were taking our country??? If these men are prosectuted it will bring not just justice, but moreso, a dose of reality to those who blindly ate the large heaping steaming pile of dog SH#% they dished out. And I will not feel so alone!

Conservatives are all about "accountability" for other people (welfare mothers, drunk drivers, teenagers, etc.), but never about themselves. WE MUST HOLD THE BUSH REGIME'S OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR CRIMES! Prosecute them vigorously! Democrats have given the Bush regime a free ride to break laws and violate the Constitution. We must prosecute the Bush regime's officials in order to uphold the Constitution, the rule of law, and democracy itself.

If the new Attorney General won't bring them to justice then let's get behind Vincent Bugliosi's efforts to see that the bastards face murder charges in a criminal court.

Every one of our leaders swore to uphold the Constitution, but so far nobody's doing it. This isn't a partisan matter or a personal matter; we either have laws (and rights) and or we don't. As for Clinton's daft failure to pursue the Iran-Contra violations, look what it got him -- and the nation. Unless the next Justice Department acts, the Republicans will continue subverting the Constitution every time they get a chance, assured that they'll pay no price for it.

Simply put,the Attorney General should hold every citizen of this country accountable to the law(s)of the land.If the President and/or Vice President have commited high crimes,they should be punished(or exonerated) in court just like anybody else.No exceptions!No one is above the law. Let's not blur or modify the words of our precious constitution to benefit the haves and be so anxious to scuttle the have-nots.We need(deserve)a momentous turnaround-----Now!!!!

This is about WAR CRIMES!!!! Not much worse law breaking could a President, Vice President, Secretary of Defense and their Neo-Con advisors do! Uh,if they invaded Iran, too, that would certainly be worse! But, let's face it, compared to these murderers, how bad does getting some blow jobs in the Oval Office look to you??? Let's put some credibility back into our Constitution!!!!!

.."to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States", then he will have no choice but to prosecute the bastards.

This should not be viewed as nice or not nice, this should be viewed as the rule of law. This should be viewed as the right way to correct a wrong not vengeance for past slurs but painfully necessary not to coddle the law breakers. Eisenhower left (congressional) out of his speech on the military industrial complex, in doing so he left out a large part of the truth. Ford didn't let Nixon go to trial in exchange for his own presidency although he said “so the nation would heal” Bull****. This left the door open to nuts like Cheney thinking it was all political and for the really bad habit of the criminals in the white house pardoning their fellow criminals like bushes father, so they themselves would go unpunished. These executives have committed grievous crimes, like all execs they think they should be above the law given bonuses and golden parachutes and sent on their way and told to behave as they move all their funds overseas to avoid paying taxes in the country that made them so obscenely rich... but I digress. This will be as painful as pulling teeth without anesthetic it will seem like it takes forever but it must be done.

Prosecuting G W Bush and company is a part of moving into future. Until G W Bush and company are held accountable for their crimes America can not move forward into future.

if congress held just impeachment hearings and dragged them out as long as they could the public would have been screaming for bush and cheney to resign. there would have been so much presssure to resign they they would have no choose. the dems have not back bone for a fight and they have as much to hide. we would not be were we are today if they had started impeachment hearings two years ago.

Either we have a system of rule by law or we don't. It should not even be a question whether or not criminals are held accountable for their crimes. To do otherwise is unconstitutional and I do believe thet Obama and all of the rest did agree to protect and defend the constitution against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic. Indeed, they swore it before GOD. So, let the investigations, indictments, prosecutions, and convictions begin. Then let both domestic and international courts (in the cases of crimes against humanity) decide their fates. At the same time they will be deciding our fate as a nation. Either we are, or are not, a nation of rule by law. We must ALL demand that OUR elected leaders decide, once and for all.

The House should have impeached these bastards long ago. Had they done so in 2006, thousands of innocent people would still be alive and with their loved ones, the economy would probably not be in the toilet, and the planet would not be that much closer to ecological collapse. Most importantly, the rule of law could have been reestablished. Now is the last chance. Failure to act immediately to bring these criminals to justice will herald an end of The United States as a constitutional republic for at least the lifetime of anyone now living if not forever. If that happens Obama will be as culpable as the neoconservative apparatchiks and Fifth Column Democrats who have brought our current state of affairs to pass.

We must restore our Justice System. We need to re-establish that NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW IN THE USA. We have troops in prison for torturing when they were simply following orders. We can NOT ignore War Crimes....otherwise we are complicit. If the rule of law is meant to deter others from committing crimes then we must be diligent in enforcing the law on powerful people...especially the President and the President's cronies. Otherwise the law becomes irrelevant.

Of course Bush/Cheney et al should be held accountable for their war crimes. If they are not the United States will never again enjoy any form of credibility in the world. The fact that there are so many other problems to be faced is no excuse for inaction. This is no time for letting bygones be bygones. Because these crimes "happened in the past," and we should be "looking forward," is certainly no excuse. If it were no crime would ever be punished. I find it virtually impossible to believe that any thinking person would just let these horrible, murderous, unnecessary crimes against humanity just slip by because we're just too busy trying to overcome the results of the rest of their criminal activities.

Accountabilty IS moving on. Prosecution IS a positive agenda. There are no other lawful alternatives. There are no "alternatives" that are logically defensible and consistent.

This is an issue that I think would best be addressed by the UN and the International Court. It involves citizens of soverign countries that were invaded, captured, tortured, and killed. As far as what countries should bring charges, perhaps it is an issue that should be decided by the World Body of UN representatives of ALL member countries. The US government should agree to fully cooperate fully and swiftly to investigations by the UN or other appropriate world body.

So...Clinton decided to play nice and look forward and look where that got him...years of hell fighting off ridiculous charges and a waste of millions of dollars. Yeah, yeah, yeah, there are terrible problems that have to be solved, but trust me on this...the Republicans know that there aren't any rules and they do what Butch Cassidy did to Harvey. I'd just love it...once, just once...if Obama simply said, "Screw it. This time the American people aren't going to be Harveys. And since Paul Newman ain't around anymore, I guess I'll have to play Butch." The repercussions? What does it matter, really? He'll be in office for four years and a lot of prosecuting can be done in that time. And during this next four years someone or someones will bring up Impeachment in the House or the Senate against Obama. He'll be fighting them while he's "looking forward," just like Clinton did. So I say, move forward with investigations, indictments, prosecutions and imprisonment because if that doesn't happen, the Republicans will will ask Sundance to say "one, two, three go!"

Their rules. Lock them all up, in Guantanamo or Abu Ghraib if there's not enough room in one - use both. And - just let them ROT. No indictment. No habeas corpus. No lawyers. No trial. No NOTHING. Take care of their most basic needs: nourishment, once-a-week shower. Erase them from the news. Erase them from memories. Just - let them ROT there until they croak.

President Bush, VP Cheney, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, and others, did exactly what Hitler's Germany did in launching an unprovoked war on Iraq. This is now common knowledge, which is why Bush repeatedly harps on the "intelligence failure" that led to the war. The implication is that had he known the truth he wouldn't have done it. We hanged Germans and Japanese after World War II for what we deemed to be war crimes. For us to fail to prosecute Americans who did the same thing would forever end any claim the United States has on being a moral nation. It is my belief and hope that Obama will not allow this to happen. On a more politically pragmatic note, making nice with modern Republicans is an exercise in futility. You might as well try to pet a rabid dog, and I might be being unfair to the dog.

I signed a petition yesterday asking Attorney General Designate Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate potential war crimes and abuses of power during the Bush Administration. I am no lawyer but I've read and listened to enough Constitutional lawyers to know it is critical to appoint a special prosecutor to learn the truth. The Bush Administration increased the powers of the Executive Branch at the expense of the Legislative one, meaning we the people. Our voices are no longer heard as they were pre-Bush. The events of 9/11 are no excuse for any Administration to rob the people of its basic rights and freedoms. Learning the truth is not a political witch hunt. No sitting President or lawmaker is above the law, no matter their Party, and all should be held accountable for any violations against the U.S. Constitution and the people. We are a nation of laws, not politicians. If we do not do this, the American people and our Republic will risk potential assaults on the Constitution by future Presidents who may not have the best interests of our nation at heart when they run for office. We have danced far too dangerously close to fascism during the Bush Administration as it is. Let’s not get any closer than we already are. If any elected official committed a crime either by commission or omission they must do the time if we intend to safeguard whatever shreds are left of a democratic process. Libby Shaw

"Ex-Canuck" is exactly right: the phrasing conveys the message.
If prosecution of Bush administration officials is termed a "witch hunt", then you can be sure that those using that term don't "get" the seriousness of what's transpired, or they're running scared from the likely outcome.

Even Buzzflash's own phrasing of this post's title: "Should Obama Play Nice, or Prosecute?" basically says that ignoring Bush administration criminality is "playing nice", therefore prosecution is "playing nasty". This thinking is backward: ignoring criminal acts, or even giving criminals the now-customary wrist-slap, sends the message that such behavior is just fine, or will at worst be winked at.

Ignoring crimes promotes "nasty play".
Prosecution of criminal administrations - i.e. upholding the Constitution - is, in fact, "playing nice".

The Obama Administration must set an example to Americans & the rest of the world that we won't let criminals get away, no matter how rich & powerful they are. There couldn't be a better example of governmental terror than the Bush/Cheney Administration. If Obama does nothing to them, I will take it as a sign that nothing will really change, as he promised.

It isn't "nice" to ignore crimes it's negligent and in this case, extremely unwise. Obama is dreaming if he thinks amnesty will give him the co-operation he wants. When Clinton killed the Irangate investigation, he did not get bi-partisanship he got impeachment. These criminals will view the failure to prosecute as a sign of weakness and take full advantage. They have all ready begun to order the next four years. Pelosi's decision not to exercise her constitutional powers to stop the undermining of our rights, address abuse of power and crimes is the worst mistake andy member of congress has ever made. Failure to prosecute now would be far worse. When there are no consequences to the powerful for breaking the law we have a de facto tyranny. Whoever can grab power and hang onto it is the law. The chaos of unrestrained election fraud, governmental fraud, illegal wars, assassinations, financial fraud, price gouging, defrauding congress and the electorate, illegal wire tapping, violations of treaties, torture, war crimes, kidnapping and rendition, destruction of public property, environmental crimes, criminal negligence, endangering the public health and gross violations of our civil rights will become precedent. Unless those who been responsible for the lawlessness and oppression of the past eight years are called to account we will NOT have succeeded in taking our country.