Good post. I have argued on this space before with people that want tp push for some sort of prosecution of the Bush Administration's crimes. It's worth pointing out again that a partisan prosecution not only would spoil our political process but would never get to the bottom of anything. Remember Ken Starr and magnify the drama and rancor 100 fold....No thanks.

We want people to talk, and we want to learn from our mistakes, so as never to repeat them. A truth and reconciliation commission with full power to grant immunity is the only way that happens.

Okay, a bipartisan commission. First, a couple of questions:

Bipartisanship was successfully deployed as a tool of intimidation to lead this country down the path of warmongering, torture, civil rights abuse and corruption that brought us to this point. Is it reasonable to expect anything useful out of a bipartisan commission?

A bipartisan commission would be made up of roughly equal numbers of partisan individuals. Why would we not expect each and every partisan member of that balanced, bipartisan panel to spend most of his/her time cutting deals with those on the other side to avoid any damaging assignment of accountability?

Here's a thought experiment:

Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that there are 5 credible, knowledgeable, prominent Democrats to appoint to the bipartisan commission who have no stake in the outcome, who are willing to follow the investigation without hesitation wherever it leads and assign blame impartially based on the evidence, even if that evidence points to party leaders, political friends and allies.

Okay, now name them. Fill in the blanks in the spaces below:

Dem 1:

Dem 2:

Dem 3:

Dem 4:

Dem 5:

Now, name 5 credible, knowledgeable, prominent Republicans who are equally willing to do the same? Fill in the blanks in the spaces below:

Rep 1:

Rep 2:

Rep 3:

Rep 4:

Rep 5:

I admit, I can't come up with the names, but maybe that's a failure of imagination on my part.

"on one level, I can understand Obama's reluctance to engage in a vendetta against the outgoing administration"

Jon, that's precisely how not to frame any attempt to follow the rule of law.

"Vendetta" has nothing to do with it. "Partisan" has nothing to do with it. "Tit for Tat, Revenge, Payback" -all have absolutely nothing to do with it.

But this type of framing, this language, does serve to de-legitimize any attempt for us to follow our own laws and see that they are enforced. I wish people would stop using them.

Jon- I agree with your assessment that justice must be served here. However, I believe that it is George Bush's intention to pardon Cheney et al for all crimes real or imagined before he leaves office. This will put a dent in all the best laid plans to bring these guys to account.

I don't think that a commission would work for procedural reasons. We don't need another report ala the recent one handed to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. We need justice and the courts are the place for this effort. First, the DoJ has to take the necessary steps against Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and all the others. If this fails, even a symbolic trial at the ICC would at least establish that a crime was committed.

However, in the final analysis, forgiving and forgetting doesn't cut it so something MUST be done. See http://globalinvestmentwatch.com/2008/12/12/white-house-torture-strategy/