Keeping Bush Alive as an Issue

Charles Krauthammer discusses Obama and the possibility of prosecutions against former Bush officials (from Special Report):

The administration has put out stories about how Obama agonized about the release of the documents. Well, if you were born yesterday, you'll believe that.

You look at the political expediency and the political objective of these leaks. Obama was elected by running against George Bush, even though he wasn't on the ballot. He has been running against Bush in the first 100 days. He ran against Bush when he was in Europe and in Trinidad. He's making himself the foil against Bush.

And you would expect that has to end after a few months. Well, with the torture issue, it doesn't end. It's a perfect way to keep Bush alive as the permanent nemesis and foil of Obama.

And what he's doing is by strategically releasing a memo here, a memo there, he creates a firestorm, which is all predictable, which is not going to end up in prosecutions. It will end up in a truth commission.

You will have all kinds of Congressional hearings. You will have all kinds of commissions. You will have leaks. You will have televised, very dramatic testimony.

This issue, the Bush issue, will be alive for a long time.

And the reason Obama is trying to look magnanimous in saying he won't prosecute the CIA officials is because, obviously, there is no way to prosecute an official who acted in good faith. And even their lawyers, who simply offered an opinion, you're going to [prosecute a] lawyer who simply offered an opinion?

The issue, I think, of prosecutions, is a side issue here. The real issue is the hearings, the commissions, and the leaks that we will have in the future.

Sounds like Charles is calling B.S. much as I did.