Obama would ask his AG to "immediately review" ...crimes in Bush White House

[smoogatz]

Tonight I had an opportunity to ask Barack Obama a question that is on the minds of many Americans, yet rarely rises to the surface in the great ruckus of the 2008 presidential race -- and that is whether an Obama administration would seek to prosecute officials of a former Bush administration on the revelations that they greenlighted torture, or for other potential crimes that took place in the White House.

Obama said that as president he would indeed ask his new Attorney General and his deputies to "immediately review the information that's already there" and determine if an inquiry is warranted -- but he also tread carefully on the issue, in line with his reputation for seeking to bridge the partisan divide. He worried that such a probe could be spun as "a partisan witch hunt." However, he said that equation changes if there was willful criminality, because "nobody is above the law."

The question was inspired by a recent report by ABC News, confirmed by the Associated Press, that high-level officials including Vice President Dick Cheney and former Cabinet secretaries Colin Powell, John Ashcroft and Donald Rumsfeld, among others, met in the White House and discussed the use of waterboarding and other torture techniques on terrorism suspects.

I mentioned the report in my question, and said "I know you've talked about reconciliation and moving on, but there's also the issue of justice, and a lot of people -- certainly around the world and certainly within this country -- feel that crimes were possibly committed" regarding torture, rendition, and illegal wiretapping. I wanted to know how whether his Justice Department "would aggressively go after and investigate whether crimes have been committed."

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/attytood/Barack_on_torture.html

Hillary? Hello?

[AtomicKitten]

1. Oh, hell yes.

[mythyc]

30. second. that makes my day

thanks for asking and reporting to us. now if you can get to hillary and record it, we're really in business....

[populistdriven]

32. If this doesnt hit 200 recs there is something wrong

even Hillary supporters should bump this one up

[Coexist]

78. third!

[JANdad]

61. I do not know which is funnier...

your cartoon or the fact that you believe this would happen...

[Ronnie]

133. It's a tossup. Look at the weasel words:

"...he also tread carefully on the issue, in line with his reputation for seeking to bridge the partisan divide. He worried that such a probe could be spun as "a partisan witch hunt.""

[SaveAmerica]

119. John Edwards as AG?!!? It's the first time I've looked at that possibility as better than

him being Vice President.

[NYCGirl]

2. Bravo!

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Tellurian]

3. Thats funny...early on in his campaign he said, no, he wouldn't do that!

eww threatening..Getting mighty spiteful. Maybe he thinks Chicago politics trump Washington politics..

[merh]

8. would you care to answer my trivia question in the post below?

:shrug:

[Emit]

50. When? Do you have a link?

[Usrename]

68. Gee, did he say that BEFORE the ABC News story broke?

:eyes:

I guess it's a good thing that there is somebody it this race that is ready to respond to changing events.

This should be much better for our future than to continue making decisions based solely on ideology.

[Pawel K]

71. Link? Or is this another case of a Hillary supporter making shit up and running away?

[Sadie5]

104. Review them

Why would his AG need to review them? we already know that Bush?Cheney are guilty as hell. BO isn't going to do squat about these crooks. Tell the people what they want to hear and wait for the votes to come in, that's BOs motto.

[babylonsister]

4. Thank you, Senator Obama! Rec'd! nt

[gateley]

5. I'm SO GLAD somebody asked him that!

That's what I wanted to hear!

If the next Prez caves because of political pressure, I'll be livid.

I don't understand why they haven't moved forward on this yet with all that Dennis and Wexler have done. It's GOT to be political, don't you think?

[Voice for Peace]

22. We put on the pressure. Thinking Americans with a conscience put on the pressure.

People who care about the Constitution and the hideous precedent of this administration put on the pressure. Obama is not a fool.

[Politicalboi]

107. Well I think

Hillary would cave in and let the crimes go unpunished. Obama also said he would turn back the powers Bush gave himself too. Now for Obama to say he would investigate is good news to me but not everyone. He could lose some support over this decision. Obama also said he would allow med-marijuana patients and shops to get the medicine they need without the fear of the DEA. Even though I agree with this on him it could hurt him too. Camp Hillary will come back and say "Obama's going to legalize Pot". I wish he would.

[thereismore]

6. Fuckin'A! nt

[NJSecularist]

Hillary would rather let Bush and his cronies get off easily... they're best friends. n/t

[merh]

7. Hell yeah!

that's what we need, not someone to clean up after baby bush like was done for poppy bush.


Side note: During that forum the other night he said he does not approve of torture in any shape or form, for any reason, and he said torture is illegal. He was clear that there would be no extraordinary renditions, farming out of crimes.

They didn't ask Hillary about this that I recall.

A little trivia question - who began the extraordinary rendition program, who signed the executive order authorizing them?

[Voice for Peace]

25. Baby Bush has been much more poopy than Poppy

[Kurovski]

128. Was it Big Dog? Really?

[merh]

130. Yes, sadly it was big dawg.

In 1995

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/users/profile/burnt

[C_U_L8R]

9. You'll never hear a Clinton say that (nt)

[The_Casual_Observer]

10. In other words, he'll do nothing. What would a review of the information

"That's already there" yield? The author of that thing does nothing but project his own opinions on to what he wants to hear from Obama.

[54anickel]

11. Moot point, ain't it? Repukes pre-pardoned the cabal

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5507809#5507874

edit to fix my poor "unedumacated" grammar.

[smoogatz]

16. The word is "moot."

To be mute is to be unable to speak.

[54anickel]

21. DOH! Thanks for the correction - I'm just a dumb hillbilly librul afterall, and now I'm bitter too.

[Voice for Peace]

27. Somewhere there's a bumper sticker with your name on it

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5479055

[54anickel]

31. Bwahahaha! Thanks for the link - some good ones in there, though I didn't see hillbilly on a quick

pass through.

[Voice for Peace]

34. You may be able to get a custom-design from one of the magnanimous posters

who did most of them.

I did see one that said "Bitter Reformed Rednecks" but I couldn't find it when I went back to look, there were too many.

[ima_sinnic]

12. something Hillary would be guaranteed never to do--just as Bill swept BCCI & Iran-Contra

under the rug

That is great news--something I'd hoped for

[Tellurian]

13. Hahaha! A rhetorical question!!!

"The bottom line is that: Obama sent a clear signal that -- unlike impeachment, which he's ruled out and which now seems a practical impossibility -- he is at the least open to the possibility of investigating potential high crimes in the Bush White House. To many, the information that waterboarding -- which the United States has considered torture and a violation of law in the past -- was openly planned out in the seat of American government is evidence enough to at least start asking some tough questions in January 2009."

yeah, we'll all be holding our breath waiting for the indictments!

:rofl: :rofl:

[NJSecularist]

14. At least he'll make an attempt. Will Hillary?

Has she made a commitment to do so?

[Tellurian]

18. He's never going to see the inside of the White House! It's a moot point

[smoogatz]

20. So, you're saying McCain will win?

[cali]

113. lol. You're going to choke on PRESIDENT OBAMA

and I'm going to relish it.

[ericblair]

138. No, he's not going to even make an attempt.

Look, I like Obama and I loathe Hillary Clinton but there's a simple reality that all the people who expect Obama to expose and punish the crimes of the Bush administration just don't want to acknowledge. And that is that the day he becomes POTUS he has more in common with Chimpy (or Clinton or Carter or Reagan or Rutherford B. Hayes or Martin Van Buren or Abraham Lincoln)than he does with any of his supporters. It's a unique position and the fact is that probably every POTUS at some point in their administration breaks the law. Not with the rapacious mind-blowing murderous gusto of Chimpy but nevertheless it's almost certain to happen. That being the case, no matter how extreme the ideological differences, every new President takes a conciliatory stance regarding his predecessor in the name of "unity", "national healing", or some other bullshit.
It's a club folks and it will have had only 44 members when Obama takes office (and he will). I think Obama will be a great and historic President but anyone who thinks he's going to go after Junior or Dick-head is kidding themselves.

[Justice Is Comin]

15. I'm sure he will.

Just like he didn't vote for the IWR in the senate.

You know why con men are successful? Because they're con men.

[smoogatz]

19. Um...

He didn't vote for the IWR. He wasn't there. He did speak out against the war, before being against the war was cool. Hillary DID vote for the IWR, unlike 22 other Democratic senators and Republican Lincoln Chaffee.

[Justice Is Comin]

24. Right my friend.

yeah umm he wasn't there.

Umm he didn't read the intelligence either.

Yet, umm he said he don't know how he would have voted. Do you deny it or not? Just a yes or no will do.

Your case is like cotton candy. There's nothing there but sugar.

He would be a joke as president too.

[smoogatz]

28. What is it about Hillary that you actually like? I honestly don't get it.

Is it the fantasy of the return of the Big Dawg, or what?

I'm pretty sure the "I don't know" quote is usually taken out of context by Hillary supporters. But it's immaterial. A portion of the responsibility for the war is on Hillary's head. She voted for it, Obama didn't. Hillary will not be able to differentiate herself from McCain on the war if she wins the nom (which she won't). Which is pretty funny, if you think about it.

[Justice Is Comin]

33. The frustrating thing is that I am

by no means an upside down crazy fan of Hillary either. She's just the best of the two choices we're left with. She's light years better than string bean.

If you think McCain won't make him look like an idiot on the war, you're delusional. The only thing he ever did is give a speech where it didn't make a lick of difference to anybody's actual life or death. As soon as he got on the same authority level as Hillary, you couldn't tell his votes from Liebermans.

You will regret the day if he ever becomes the nominee.

He's a phony.

[smoogatz]

35. It's very simple.

Americans hate the war. Americans hate Bush. McCain loves Bush and the war. All Obama has to do to beat McCain is keep linking him to Bush and the war. You liked Bush? You'll LOVE McCain! You liked the first five years of the war? Get ready for the second verse, same as the first. There's your slogan. But Hillary can't do that—she owns the war every bit as much as McCain does, and she can't hope to run against him on military cred.

I look forward to the day Obama wins the nom. I think he's got genuine potential for greatness.

[Justice Is Comin]

37. My turn I guess.

You just made my point.

They will turn him into Kerry on the surfboard within two weeks. They won't even have to create the ad. They will just put his head on Kerry's body. He was against it before he was for it. There is no way to twist it. His votes tell the story.

They can't leverage that with Clinton because she voted for the awr AT THE TIME. But now she realizes it's imperative to END the war. Since that is directly opposite of McCain now, that will separate the ones who want the war from those who love the terror bullshit. And the vast majority of America is in favor of getting the troops out. But they can't make her a "flip flopper."

What amazes me is why all you obama fanatics don't see that.

All my posts will be in the archives showing where I tried to point out what would happen. One of us will be dead wrong. I'm not worried in the least about being the one who will be saying I told you so.

[smoogatz]

62. For it before she was against it.

"she voted for the awr AT THE TIME. But now she realizes it's imperative to END the war." You wouldn't be projecting a teeny bit, would you?

[Zachstar]

17. He can review the Info but people must be making their voices heard for there to be arrests

Seriously Obama can do little here without the support of the people. The moment he says "Review" as president. Republicans will call McCarthyism faster than you can say "But there were crimes"

The people have to be involved with this. We have to talk about this every day. We have to constantly ask the media to review evidence. We have to be out in local communities and peacefully protesting the white house saying "WE WANT JUSTICE!!!"

And the same goes for Clinton if she somehow wants to do this.


I hope nobody is thinking that any democratic president can suddenly take down that crap alone. Not even Al Gore.


So I urge you all to keep the pressure up for Justice to be surved once Obama is in the white house.

[Voice for Peace]

23. BIG Kick & Rec

[donheld]

26. K & R

[grytpype]

29. If he doesn't have your support after this, what's it going to take?

[quakerboy]

36. topping my list

Thank you.

[BenDavid]

38. BULLSHIT! For some reason, you seem to think Obama will go

Jihad on the Bush bastards, but how can he after he's promised to "reach across the aisle" and stop using 'gotcha' politics? Obama has tied his own hands. Obama (if the nominee and if elected) will probably do exactly what Bill did: He's going to let the Bush bastards off the hook to promote some "get along" strategy that can't work.

[dkf]

40. Umm. So you acknowledge that Bill/Hillary did nothing?

Well that is mighty big of you.

[quakerboy]

42. Way to throw the Gratuitous Muslim inference in.

[cali]

114. He's promising to uphold the Constitution.

but I love watching your head explode.

[samsingh]

39. this is the reason i want Obama to win

i fear the Clinton's will just move on and ignore the bush years - or cover up for them.

[aquart]

80. And when Obama does the same you will applaud.

And rationalize it to prove how wonderful he is. Oh, well. That's one gorgeous suit of clothes on your emperor, ain't it.

[VenusRising]

41. My heart is pounding with that news!

Oh, please. Oh, please. Oh, please!!!!!!!!

:bounce::bounce::bounce:

[PatGund]

43. Oh HELL yes!!

[Mooney]

44. This is why Obama has my vote.

He seems to realize that the government needs to do its fucking job.

[aquart]

82. Nah.

But now you can happily tell yourself that's why. Go for it.

He's going to "reach across the aisle" AND prosecute. An amazing feat. I too will applaud such gymnastics.

[Mooney]

83. OK, I'll bite.

Why did I actually vote for Obama?

[hisownpetard]

98. They are not mutually exclusive. Not ALL Republicans have committed illegal acts.

At least, not that I know of...

[DeSwiss]

45. K&R!!!

[Raine]

46. Two BIG Thumbs Up

to Obama! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[SeattleGirl]

47. Yes, yes, yes!!!!

Thank you for asking that question! I've wondered the same thing. I hope someone asks Clinton and McCain the same question. There's no "gotcha" here; I just think it's an important question for them to answer (though I bet McCain will whirl like a dervish to get out of answering that one.....).

[blogslut]

48. I love Will Bunch

Thanks for asking that, Mr. Bunch.

Maybe he'll get a chance to ask Senator Clinton. Will she dance with the angels on the head of a pin?

[cali]

49. k&r

please, please make this happen.

[Hope And Change]

51. K & R!

:kick:

[FatDave]

52. Yet another reason.

I like this guy more every day.

[jackson_dem]

53. Funny to hear that from a candidate who has Colin Powell as an adviser

In other words, it is just words (again).

[DemVet]

54. Shit. It'll never happen. Just like impeachment now with Pelosi...never in a million years.

[AzDar]

55. K & R...

:kick:

[SunsetDreams]

56. K&R

[Marrah_G]

57. I don't bellieve that would happen for a second

Heard that BS type of line too many times in the last 5 years.

Let's just say, will believe it when I see it.

[onehandle]

58. BULLSHIT! BULLSHIT! BULLSHIT! DONT FALL FOR THIS.

No President... NO PRESIDENT would ever do this.

I question the validity of this One report in one newspaper's blog. At the best, this is election year talk. Nothing more.

I like Obama, but don't get your hopes up. Presidents do NOT do this to former Presidents.

[npincus]

67. Chimp's admin is rife with law-breakers

He had plenty of enablers. Damn straight, Obama would!

[sellitman]

84. No President has ever committed War Crimes.

We are in new territory.

[onehandle]

91. Johnson. Nixon. Reagan. Bush I. Probably Kennedy too.

Bush will pardon his cronies and will NEVER be pinned for Anything.

[rasputin1952]

59. Oddly enough, the seeking of the possible prosecution of

bush and cheney would become a rallying point for the GOP. I can almost hear it now, ""'They' want bush's head on a platter, you can stop this with a vote for McCain." Of course that is exactly the same as saying he is guilty of whatever they wish to investigate bush on, but the GOP minions would attempt to spin this out of control.

There are several ways he can go about this and come out looking pretty good, even heroic if he does it right. The best thing to do is say these are merely investigations in an attempt to see if there was any wrongdoing; and then use the same old saw the R's use, "If there has been criminal done, he has nothing to far from the investigations." Few things would make me happier than to see the crowd that bellows, "Let them listen to my phone calls and look at my records, I've got nothing to hide", trying to defend this creature of darkness.

[Blarch]

60. Bill promised to investigate Iraqgate...

But when he took office he did no such thing, he just covered for Bush I.

[smoogatz]

64. Sounds like a good reason not to vote for Hillary. n/t

[AnarchoFreeThinker]

63. kicked and recccccccccccccccccc'd

[mod mom]

65. UL Will President Obama be able to investigate if pardons (assuming) are handed out?

I hope so -this was one of Bill Clinton's biggest mistakes-letting the crimes (Iran contra, BCCI) get swept under the rug.

:hi:

[Bullet1987]

66. You know Clinton is not going to do that...her husband swept Iran-Contra

under the rug.

[rndmprsn]

69. K&R

[uponit7771]

70. BAM!!!! Another reason to vote for Obama

[Road Scholar]

72. K&R nt

[knixphan]

73. word up, Barack!

[Seabiscuit]

74. Nancy "Impeachment is off the table" Pelosi must love Obama.

They're both so worried about "bridging the partisan divide" and someone spinning justice as "a partisan witch hunt" that no justice will ever be done about anything as long as people like them are around.

[nichomachus]

75. This is the sort of statement that can get you in serious trouble

This is a dangerous statement to make. The criminals in the Bush administration are not above killing someone if they are threatened.

The corporate media, criminally complicit with the Bush Crime Family, can take a candidate -- please refer to Howard Dean in 2003 -- to the ground in three weeks with a 24/7, all-channel barrage of propaganda. If the media wants to destroy Obama, he will be a memory before the gavel comes down in Denver.

Howard Dean was the "unbeatable front runner" on December 1, 2003. Then he made the mistake of saying he would go after the corporate media. The barrage began. After about 500 stories in every media outlet in the country saying he was unelectable, plus the cable news beating that drum 24/7, by Iowa most people believed that Dean was "unelectable."

[smoogatz]

76. So you're saying Obama should live in fear of Bushco?

That he should be too timid to even publicly entertain the idea of investigating their crimes? Isn't that what we all despise about Pelosi and Reid?

[nichomachus]

93. Everyone should live in favor of Bushco . . . .

I really don't know what the answer is -- seriously. The problem is that when you make very specific plans like that -- and then telegraph them to the other party -- you're asking for retaliation.

The Bush Crime Family is vicious -- and will take you down.

What we despise about Pelosi and Reid is that they didn't do it once they had the chance -- not that they didn't run around saying they would do it.

Another good example was Bill Clinton when he promised that his first act would be to order gays in the military. That provided a good opportunity for the other side. First, they were waiting for him with both barrels loaded. They pulled down his pants and spanked him in public, and then we ended up with DADT, which was worse than what we had. If he had just kept quiet -- and then, once in office, issued an executive order, things might have gone differently.

There are some things you should just do, instead of threatening to do them.

I used to work in family court. I can't tell you how many times women threatened their significant other with a restraining order -- over and over -- they would even come to the courthouse and get the application to take home and scare him to get him to change his behavior. Then, the SO would come down to the courthouse and take out a restraining order against her -- have her thrown out of the house and banned from contact with the kids. Those cases were really sad. She should have just done it and not talked about it.

[smoogatz]

96. And what makes you think that anyone who's too timid to even talk about

investigating Bushco would actually have the gumption to do it, given the opportunity? I think it's a legitimate subject for discussion, and one that would likely put the fear of God into the Bushies and drive the right-wing noise machine into a foaming frenzy. At this point, the more Hannity and O'Reilly scream about Obama, the better people seem to like him.

[nichomachus]

100. It's not about timidity

it's about strategy. If I were going to punch you in the nose, I would never tell you ahead of time that I was going to do it. That's not timidity. That's common sense. It's much more effective if I just do it. If I tell you ahead of time, I give you a better chance to protect yourself -- or I give you a reason to attack me first. Not a smart move.

With a move like this, you have to calculate how many added votes you will get from this and balance that against how many votes you might lose -- and then factor in what the reaction of the Bush Crime Family will be.

O'Hannity and O'Reilly screaming are one thing. If all of a sudden the "serious" media outlets start an all-out barrage, that will have an effect. It did against Howard Dean in 2003. Time, Newsweek, WSJ, NYTimes, Washington Post, LA Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, CBS, NBC, ABC, NPR -- and others -- three weeks of constant, non-stop repetition that Howard was "unelectable." Hell, by the end of that, even his own wife probably thought he was unelectable.

If the Bush Crime Family thinks it is in danger, it will find some way to neutralize the other person. If necessary, they will just kill them. They've done it before. They'll do it again.

[smoogatz]

103. I don't think Hillary's silence on this issue indicates intent to act.

I think it's just silence, and what it signals to me is her indifference to Bushco's litany of high crimes committed while in office. Now, maybe it's the case that Obama's blowing the dog-whistle for those of us in the progressive base, and in doing so he may tip his hand to Bush with catastrophic consequences. I doubt that Bushco will be able to orchestrate any kind of successful conspiracy against Obama, though, short of trying to suspend the elections—which they may well do in any case, assuming McCain's trailing badly in the polls. But it may also be the case that Obama genuinely gets it, actually understands that Bush et al have committed serious crimes in office that must be investigated if we're to call ourselves a legitimate constitutional republic. My sense is that the latter is actually the case: Obama gets it.

[nichomachus]

105. I didn't say it did -- and you can read into it anything you want

[LSK]

77. K&R

[creeksneakers2]

79. I'm so glad you asked that and posted the response

That's the very question I've been wishing I could ask Obama. If Democrats win the presidency we must fight to have not only the guilty prosecuted but also to have the truth exposed. The public must learn what really went on so right wingnuts will never be trusted with power again.

[Vinca]

81. Would somebody please ask Hillary this question? nt

[invictus]

85. That's great and it's something that a Hillary administration would never do. n/t

[Divine Discontent]

86. and therein lies the reason why...

they are throwing everything but the kitchen sink at him. I wouldn't be surprised to hear the rhetoric on Obama get even LOUDER.... bastards are going to do their BEST "he doesn't even love the country he wants to lead, and he's not even experienced!" throughout this - when Obama would clearly make the most measured candidate of the 3. I prefer Gore, Edwards, or Clark, but don't ever think Clinton and ESPECIALLY McBomb/McSame/McInsane are even close to where I hold Obama!

[Eric Condon]

87. Rec'd. Just one more example of the courage integrity Hillary could never muster

if her life depended on it.

She needs the Bu$h cabal out of prison. That way, she can appease Poppy so that he'll continue to go on roving ambassador photo ops with her husband - you know, the same ones she "appreciated" Bu$h for sending them down for after Katrina.

[TheWraith]

88. YESSS!

Because the crimes NEED TO BE EXPOSED.

[mopinko]

89. how it will happen- my prediction. first will come the transparency.

my prediction is based on my thought that obama learned well the lessons of chicago's first black mayor, harold washington. he had a tenuous hold on the reins of power, as one might expect. but he and the haroldheads had high expectations. when an issue emerged that all good progressives would want, but the bungalow belt (many of whom were bitter) would not, and people came to him his stock answer was- build a movement. get it into the public's attention. put it on the people's minds. then i will move.
i KNOW we will see this strategy from the obama white house. and i know that transparency will begin on day one. he knows where he wants to take this country, but he knows that he needs to educate people first. raise the shades. unlock the doors and throw them open. lay it all out there on the white house lawn.
just you watch.

[cooolandrew]

90. OK he's vetted.. Whoa, this guy is the real dal.

[Orsino]

92. Has he asked *'s AGs yet?

C'mon, Dems. Throw me a bone.

[Lugnut]

94. Sounds good to me.

:kick:

[Frisbee]

95. Proud to be rec #101! n/t

[Greyskye]

97. Accountability - what a concept!

Bitter Constitutionilists for Obama!

[DutchLiberal]

99. Why hasn't he tried to start impeachment hearings, like (ex-)presidential candidate Kucinich?

[smoogatz]

101. The House impeaches, the Senate convicts.

Amazing how many people don't know that. In the case of Watergate, a special Senate committee was established in 1973 to investigate Nixon's "Campaign Practices," headed by Sam Ervin, the senior senator from North Carolina. in 1973, the Democrats held a 10-seat majority in the Senate. Now it's a virtual tie, which means there's no way in hell any special investigative committees would be created.

[DutchLiberal]

111. Well, I knew that, even though I'm not an American. I should've phrased it different:

Why didn't he support Kucinich by speaking out in favor of impeachment?

[smoogatz]

112. Because he can count?

There's no point in impeaching if you can't convict. Two-thirds (66 out of 100) senators have to vote to convict in order for a sitting president to be removed from office. Right now we'd have 50, tops—so not even close. Any attempt to impeach as the situation currently stands would be an empty gesture. Much as I wish it could happen, it ain't gonna happen.

[DutchLiberal]

116. It's not about whether or not you have enough voted to convict. It's the gesture.

[smoogatz]

117. Impeachment without conviction is the ultimate empty gesture

and would just make Democrats look vindictive and weak. It's a little like masturbation without orgasm. What's the point?

[DutchLiberal]

118. No, it shows character and determination. People like that in a (future) president.

[smoogatz]

120. But we're not so fond of ineptitude, masochism and time wasted in futility.

Which is what we'd get out of any serious attempt at impeachment, in the end. Again, I love DK and I wish the numbers were there more than I've ever wished for anything in politics, almost (a do-over of the 2000 election would be nice), but I have a hard time blaming Obama for being a pragmatist on this one. Na ga happen. On to the next election.

[DutchLiberal]

125. Supporting impeachment is never, ever "ineptitude, masochism and time wasted".

I'm sad you're thinking about it this way.

[ericblair]

139. Maturbation without orgasm shows character and

determination? If you say so.

[DutchLiberal]

152. What is wrong with stating you support impeachment? Maybe it doesn't help, but why would it hurt?

WHY? Can somebody tell me finally???

[myrna minx]

102. K&R. n/t

[tomp]

106. wrong answer.

the answer is: the u.s. government is corrupt beyond imagination. we must go after the corruption mercilessly from top to bottom, democrat and republican, if we are to survive. his complete answer shows incomplete commitment to our most serious issue.

[DangerousRhythm]

108. Amazing.

Thanks for the news. This makes me absolutely proud to support Obama. These scumbags can't get away with it... with the past several years. It just can't happen.

[City Lights]

109. K&R

:thumbsup:

[OwnedByFerrets]

110. K and R

[peace frog]

115. YES!!!!!!

I want those criminal bastards behind bars, disgraced, rejected by all. Nothing less will do.

[nolabels]

121. This might just be a scary development for some

The question is will they cut off their nose to spite their face?

[Ian_rd]

122. No! No! Don't interrupt us when all we want to talk about is how he is an elitist who hates us!

"Hello? Rove here."

"Hi, Karl. I suppose you heard Obama's promise to investigate Bush, and hence you, if he's elected?"

"I heard it."

"So, are you gonna give me more campaign strategy tips or what?"

"I'll get right on it. Ummm ... get photographed with beer in your hand, maybe go duck hunting with photographers. Call Obama an East Coast Elitist."

"East Coast? He's from Hawaii and Illinois. That makes no sense."

"This is why Democrats always lose, I swear. It doesn't matter! The people you're going for with this are idiots. It doesn't have to make sense."

"Gotcha."

[jordi_fanclub]

123. Good night!

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

124. "Nobody is above the law".

Hello PA, NC & IN dems

This is the #1 reason why he should be our nominee.




K & R
:kick:

[Autumn Colors]

126. K&R (nt)

[D23MIURG23]

127. K&R!!!!!!!!!

Enthusiastically.

[simmonsj811]

129. kicking to the top!

[L. Coyote]

131. Well, saw me a log! If it is a crime, you PROSECUTE!

[jonnyra]

132. "immediately review the information that's already there"

"immediately review the information that's already there" and determine if an inquiry is warranted"...Ummm I really dont think there is much question that an inquiry is warranted so that line right there is suspect as an escape route imo.

"in line with his reputation for seeking to bridge the partisan divide." You know this is a real problem...the republicans do not want a bridge. They are not interested working together as witnessed by these last 10 years of republican crimes and downright strange, cult like behavior. C'mon...this is a real problem if Obama thinks the republican fucks want anything to do with real government.

"He worried that such a probe could be spun as "a partisan witch hunt." So we dont hold the war criminals accountable because the press might spin it in a way thats untrue? Your afraid of spin?!? Ive heard this BS from Reid and its as pathetic coming out of Obama's mouth as it was when I heard Reid whining on democracy now.

Until I hear him make a public statement as to potential criminal wrong doing by this horrible administration I aint buyin it. I like that he responded and thats a start. But the virtual silence by either dem candidate on this issue leads me to believe we will never see the criminals brought to justice.

Unless France has the balls to arrest Condi the next time shes shoe shoppin in Paris. That would be suhweeet.

[bagimin]

134. Whats not to like?

I wonder who his AG might be?

[Wizard777]

135. I won't believe it until I hear it from Obama's mouth.

Somebody once told me that Bill Clinton told them he would legalize Marijuana in his second term. That never happened. But if I do hear it from Obama's mouth. At that point. I would die for that man! But not until I hear it from his mouth.

[goldcanyonaz]

136. Which means == NOTHING! Seriously, neither candidate will do anything to Bush.

[Major Hogwash]

137. This would be great.

Great for America, great for the world to see that we care about justice.

[nradisic]

140. Gobama!

Put the criminals in jail!

[jillan]

141. Giving this a k/r (and I'm a Hillary supporter) My real candidate...

Biden.... proposed the same thing.

Maybe if Obama wins, Biden will help him ;)

[me b zola]

142. K&R

:thumbsup:

[2tr4nqued]

143. Gonna take lots more than that to get my vote

For me to vote for Obama, he would have to start calling for impeachment before the election.

[Imagevision]

144. Bushco should be exposed for what it really was. no truth on 9-11, or Iraq wmd's...

[grizmaster]

145. If he raises that to a promise to prosecute the war criminals, I'm switching

to Obama.

If he publicly displays the spine, and promises to prosecute ANYONE who greenlighted torture including bush and cheney he will have won my support away from Hillary.

One of my biggest doubts about Obama is his willingness to promise to play nice with those on the other side of the aisle. We don't need to play nice, we need to convene the moral equivalent of the Nuremberg Trials and flush the murdering scum out of our system.

"Immediate review" isn't needed, handing out indictments for what is plainly in public record IS. No time for half measures now Barack. Say it loud, and say it clear and you got my vote.

[williesgirl]

146. Thanks for asking him that. Everyone who cares about our laws wants to know. HRC won't do that I'm

sure. rec'd

[Seabiscuit]

147. This is pure unmitigated crap. If you read Obama's full quote, you'll see him saying

that regardless of the seemingly countless crimes we all know have been committed by many members of the Bush administration, Obama wouldn't want to disturb his first term in office by doing anything about it because "we've got many problems we've got to solve" and he's afraid that prosecuting such crimes will be "perceived on the part of Republicans as a partisan witch hunt":

"You're also right that I would not want my first term consumed by what was perceived on the part of Republicans as a partisan witch hunt because I think we've got too many problems we've got to solve."

That's a moral coward's excuse.

Then there's this:

"So this is an area where I would want to exercise judgment -- I would want to find out directly from my Attorney General -- having pursued, having looked at what's out there right now -- are there possibilities of genuine crimes as opposed to really bad policies. And I think it's important-- one of the things we've got to figure out in our political culture generally is distinguishing betyween really dumb policies and policies that rise to the level of criminal activity. You know, I often get questions about impeachment at town hall meetings and I've said that is not something I think would be fruitful to pursue because I think that impeachment is something that should be reserved for exceptional circumstances."

He thinks "we" (whoever that is) have "got to figure out" how to distingush between really dumb policies and policies that rise to the level of criminal activity"? How stupid does he think we all are? Or is he just that stupid that he can't tell the difference?

And impeachment? "Reserved for exceptional circumstances"??? Excuse me, Rip Van Obama Winkle, but exactly how many years have you been asleep at the wheel??? You haven't noticed even one of the many "exceptional circumstances" flying all around you all these years? Where the fuck have you been, man????

:wtf:

[orleans]

148. k&r thank god. n/t

[lilyannerose]

149. I'm Behind Obama

One Hundred and Three Per Cent!

[defendandprotect]

150. That's very comforting/reassuring . . . because previously he had said that . . .

he saw no reason for impeaching Bush ---

that was discouraging ---

[uponit7771]

151. ANYTHING would be better than nothing really, don't care how deep the investigation goes cause....

...right now we don't have anything.