POLITICS- Should Bush Be Investigated?

This morning on ABC, President-Elect Barack Obama was asked if he would investigate the Bush administration.

Barrack Obama seems to be a smart, reasonable, gentle man. And that may make him too pragmatic to launch the country into the inevitable Civil War that trying to bring top members of the Bush administration to justice would cause. The Bush White House has proven on more than one occasion that the laws, the constitution, and even subpoenas from Congress mean nothing to them. Is there any doubt they will ignore a warrant from federal court? And if they do, is Barrack Obama ready to start a nation wide manhunt when they disappear? Is he ready to have high officers in the previous government, perhaps even the president, brought into federal court in cuffs?

I don’t know, because I don’t know what I’d do in his place. Even if he doesn’t pursue convictions for Bush, et al, he may be faced with foreign governments attempting to prosecute charges for torture and other war crimes. As much as I think this administration has been criminally guilty of breaking numerous laws, I just can’t wrap my head around the image of Bush in an orange jumpsuit.

But, as much as I hate the idea of that scene transpiring, even if it is well and truly deserved, I know that letting them walk away isn’t right. I don’t think I could do it. I hope Obama is a stronger man than I am because the heart of the matter was pierced by the words of Dawn Johnson, Obama’s choice to head the Office of Legal Counsel.

“We must avoid any temptation simply to move on. We must instead be honest with ourselves and the world as we condemn our nation's past transgressions and reject Bush's corruption of our American ideals. Our constitutional democracy cannot survive with a government shrouded in secrecy, nor can our nation's honor be restored without full disclosure.”