Forgive and Forget-No Way! Update

The calls for Democrats to resist the impulse to investigate and prosecute Bush administration officials for criminal conduct are already beginning. They key talking point will be "we shouldn't criminalize policy differences."

I agree and propose the following compromise. The Obama administration should publicly refuse to prosecute any policy choices that were not illegal when they were selected. Wait, the country should be magnanimous. The Obama administration should refuse to prosecute any policy choices that were not felonies when they were selected.

Honestly, the fact that anyone has to say that in defense of the rule of law shows how crazy things have become. And consider the insane logic of the "don't criminalize policy differences" argument. You can't prosecute leaders for policies that are not criminal. You can only prosecute leaders for offenses that have already been criminalized. It is, therefore, patently absurd to argue that prosecutions of political leaders "criminalizes policy differences." Any actions for which a political official could be prosecuted are already criminal. We have already deemed them illegitimate policy options.

At any rate, you can read a couple of very good articles on the issue here and here. These guys state the case for the rule of law as well as anyone. I hope the nation listens.

Joe H.