Absolutely and hold them accountable for illegal action, I mean indictment and prison. That is change we need and it will send a signal to future administrations.

Jack,

Although the Bush administration did some very under handed things in the eight years they ruled, we need to move on with this new administration. It is time we quit trying to put the blame somewhere and all take resposiblity for our actions. We all should of stood up and took a stand against the Bush administration.

Scott- Dover, DE

Hi Jack,

If there is evidence of the law being broken by the Bush administration then the Attorney General should investigate. Then legal proceeding should occur as written by law. To answer your question, the last thing this country needs right now is another “witch hunt” like what President Clinton went through. One would hope that Washington DC gets the hint that all Representatives of Government must work together to solve the serious problems our Nation faces.

There is no more room for petty bickering.

Tom K
WA

Only if it doesn’t distract from job 1 which is getting this economy back on track. If they can investigate, file charges, try, convict and JAIL the guilty without missing a beat on the economy, then GO FOR IT!

Unfortunately no, that window of opportunity has passed and it would just be bipartisan politics as usual. it would be staggering backward into negativity, when we want to stride forward with hope and optimism and could really hamper any chance of working together.

M. Dixon
Cedar Rapids, IA

The Bush administration should be investigated. None of what has happened this past year makes sense whatsoever. I don’t understand the bailouts. People are working, money is going in to banks, etc., so financial institutions are getting money from investors and CD’s. So tell me how can the banks be broke? The Bush administration has been the most crooked administration in history and they should all be investigated, prosecuted, and sent to jail.

YES!!!!

Don’t they have enough on their plates already? my goodness, the economy, two wars, health care and education… seems like their already over their heads..

Jack,

By the time they find anything, Bush will be out. What’s the point? If we seek to blame the inane, it might make the mostly partisan anti-Bush coalition feel some vindication, but we would waste time, energy and money, all of which are in excruciatingly short supply right now. The net effect of such an investigation would be to accentuate the negative and do nothing positive. Instead, we should demand that congress and our president-elect perform triage in order to fix the myriad of problems facing our nation.

Cheers,

Mike - Pueblo, CO

Yep. It would be nice to finially know the truth of the last eight years.

Jack, this country needs to investigate some of the mistakes/wrongdoings of the Bush Administration. I think we need to know about the lead up the Iraq War and how the evidence that was used to lead us to war was obtained and interpreted and how the Administration then used that to lead us to conflict.

I think we need to investigate the practices that led us to the economic mess that we are currently in and how the Administration and Congress acted in concert to possibly create this disaster. I also think we need to review our policies regarding prisoners captured during battle to ensure that torture was not being used to obtain confessions and how the domestic spying program and the “Patriot Act” “really” worked.

With that said, I don’t think any arrests or convictions should be made, but the record be made clear and lessons learned be posted for posterity so that future generations can learn what happens when they allow government to run amok without consent of the governed.

Are you kidding me? As great as that sounds we both know it’s never going to happen, and even if it does there won’t be any consequences for their actions. We can’t even make Paris Hilton and Britney Spears serve their deserved time for their illegal actions, and you think that the Bush Admin. would be repentant and pay for their misdeeds?

where is that going to get us other than more waste of money our government doesn’t have…oh yea..china will give it to us for a price..

It’d be nice. But considering the Bush. Admin. got away with all the things they did, lies, deceit, lies… i highly doubt an investigation NOW would do anything. Bush is done with, let’s move on and not make the same mistake again… I mean that’s why we elected Obama, right?

I’d like to see Bush go to jail for a very long time. However, there are much more important issues for the 111th Congress to address.

Hold politicians accountable for their actions other than cheating on their wife? How novel.

I’ll go a step further, once convicted imprison them at Guantanamo.

Bush has lied to the people in the world and created anamosity world wide,to get things his way , he acts like a child who is going to hold his breath till he gets his way now he and his policies have created havic ,He has made his freinds richer and made it harder for working ppl to make it. his war in has killed over 4000 good young men and untold numbers in iraq just to get revenge for his fathers failing.now he and his sec of treasury have lied about the bail out and created more wealth for his friends I think he should be tried for war crimes

Absolutely. This administration has disgraced the country with unwarranted war, torture, cronyism and Constitution shredding . . . just to name a few items on the list. It’s a real mystery why this president was never impeached. Maybe if he’d had a lady friend . . .

Jack,
George Bush and Dick Cheney need to be held accountable for the crimes they have done or had done to the United States. Just to name a few crimes, trying to amend or change the constitution to cover there asses in case they are brought up on charges. Lying to get us involed in a war with Iraq just so they could make money or profit in some way. These two criminals need to retire in prison.
Carl

Absolutely !!! Too many decisions have been made in secret, or for reasons that are open to question….From Cheney’s energy policy “advisors” to the Iraq war…..Personaly, I’m less afraid of foriegn terrorist than I am of Cheney’s verson of “homeland security”… (I would expect that GW is burning the midnight oil signing all those excutive pardons for Carl et.all)

No.
Clearly the outcome of any investigation would be criminal charges or impeachment–and I don’t think the congress or the American people have the stomach–or are willing to waste tax dollars on what will appear to be a witch hunt to many.

It would be better to press on with a different agenda–in a more open fashion and build the public trust again.

What would such an investigation accomplish other than keeping alive the anger and hatred toward President Bush? This country needs to get over their feelings toward President Bush as soon as possible so we can heal. If the Democrats suspect glaring criminal activity, they should investigate it and punish accordingly. Otherwise the Democrats should concentrate on being highly successful in running our government.

I agree we must move forward, but to understand whats ahead of us, we need a very clear picture of exactly what happened in the past.

We obviously havent been told everything in full detail by the Bush admin (much less a complete cogent sentence) so its time we find out for ourselves.

Once we know exactly what was done to get us here, the path should be clear.

Nonsense. Even if they are convicted of anything they’ll just go to some resort prison for 18 months and live lavishly. All the while the ubber-Republican types will start screaming about how Obama is just like Hitler and these “witch-hunts” are just the start. As a result they’ll hijack everything they can in Congress as they continue their war-mode against the Democrats. Nothing will get done and we will decend further into division as a nation.

Unless the crimes they are being charged with include a possiblilty of Capitol Punishment it will be pointless because without capital punishment for their crimes they will not be punished.

The Republicans spent over sixty million taxpayer dollars and six years trying to find something illegal about a 20 year old Arkansas land deal. All they found was a tryst with an intern. I think the Democrats need to investigate on a much smaller scale why a war was waged based on flawed intelligence. People died, they deserve an explanation.

Sure, but the real question should be why they didn’t start investigating them two years ago when they took over congress. Chances are by the time Obama takes over in January, Bush will have already pardoned all of his criminal buddies and there is nothing they can do about it after the fact.

Obama should please focus on fixing the economy. Overturning abortion or stem cell research will not bring money into our pockets - it’s not relevant now. He should concentrate on Bush’s economic policy mistakes.

If he focuses on overturning bush’s policy on abortion and not bush’s economic policies, in 4 years time this may cost him his election, especially among Catholics.

Pullman, Washington State

It’s not even a matter of IF it’s a good idea. The question is, could Congress find all the crimes before the statue of limits runs out?

That would accomplish nothing but wasting more money.

Lets try solving some problems instead.

they better do something!.i’m sick of bush and his cronies erasing their crimes and not serving their punishment..something has to give because bush is the worst president that we ever had in ourlives..bush is going to give his homeboys pardons and he will walk away for nothing..bush must face the fact that he screwed the country and must apologize to all of us for his lies..republicans get away with crimes more often than democrats..democrats better be smart about this..

There is a saying around here, “I don’t know if you want to kick that skunk.” While there are valid concerns I cannot seen anything coming out of this except more partisanship ( when we need unity and cooperation) and a continuing cycle of one administration investigating the previous one. Obama campaigned as a uniter and this would not help reconcile the divisions that threaten our nation. What is there to gain other than “gotcha” ?

Chatham, VA

Absolutely and it should have started the day after the election. Right now, there is really no one in charge. Bush has basically checked out and is counting the minutes until he can leave for Crawford. Barack wants to act but can’t because we only have one President at a time. And, Paulson is running amok with $750 billion and we are stupid enough to trust him with it.

Absolutely!!! I know they are hiding tons of stuff. They were so secretive! What’s done in the dark (BUSH/CHENEY) comes out in the light (OBAMA/BIDEN). That’s one of the reason they fought so hard to keep Democrats out. I personally can’t wait until we see what develops.

That ship has already sailed. We can focus on the past and what a terrible job the Bush administration did or we can focus on getting this country turned around and headed in the right direction. The country does not have the resources or the luxary to do both at the same time. I don’t believe the voters would have the patience to see it either.

It’s long overdue. Malfeasance in office is what it is called. It wouldn’t hurt to look at some of the Democrats, too, such as Pelosi.

Yes, there are many urgent problems to face, but there is a statue of limitations on crimes committed in public office. At the least, if proceedings are underway, they can continue as an underlying change in policy so that abuses that have occurred during Bush and Cheney’s reign of terror are not repeated.

Yes! The Bush Administration has lied, cheated and stolen from the American people. Thousands of our brave men and women have given their lives for the lies that the Bush Admin. has told. it has made a mockery of the sacrifices they have made. The greed of the Bush Admin. has destroyed the integrity of of the United States of America. In order for us to be able to hold our heads high they need to be held accountable for their actions. If it was you or I that had done what they did we would already be in prison. I’m sure they will get away with it. If not Bush can just pardon them all before he leaves office.

You Betcha!

Why? All it would do is rub salt into the wound. We need to quietly let President Bush retire to Texas and get on with the business of running our country. The best revenge for the democrats would be success.

Yes…immediately.

The Bush Administration should absolutely be held accountable for all of the horrors it has unleashed on the rest of the world. A fabricated war, torture at Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan, and Iraq, taking the country from a surplus eight years ago to a finical meltdown are all credible reasons to bring this ship down. I think this thing should wait until the transition into power is finished. God only knows how much more harm this administration can do before January 20th, and Obama needs a smooth transition with everything he will have to fix when he gets into office.

We, the Obama faithful, have been waiting for years for this to happen! I was raised to believe that if you break the law, you will have to pay for it! Why is this administration entitled to a “get out of jail free” card? They have made a mockery out of our Constitution!

We have been lied to repeatedly, spied on, scared to death, and now robbed by the Treasury Dept. Why would we not want some vengenance?!!! Keep up the good work, Jack!

Yes. They are criminals. When is it ever appropriate to not investigate criminals?

I think that we as a country need to move on. Congressional efforts would be better spent repairing the damage done to American’s rights and restoring freedoms that were restricted during the last few years. Besides, I suspect that if the dems do want to investigate Bush after he leaves office, they may have to get in line.

You betch’a!

I feel that we are awakening from an eight year nightmare with a lot of lingering problems. The new administration and congress have far more important issues to deal with. Let the Hague take up war crimes with the Bush administration and let congress and the President deal with the economy, getting out of Iraq, fixing our education system, and taking care of our vets.

Jack,
Oh Yes, without a doubt! Too much shadiness went on under the Bush administration. Personally I’d like to see him be summoned and arrested immediately after Obama takes office on January 20. He carelessly and negligently misled the American people for eight years and you wonder why his approval ratings are an all time low for any president!

Daniel Ambrose,
Atlanta, GA

I think the Democrats are stupid for not doing this sooner. They should have started in March, 2003, when Bush started the Iraq war without first letting the weapons inspectors find the WMDs.

I mean, doesn’t it make sense to punish someone AFTER they have been caught with the goods, and NOT before?

I suppose that, now that they have a decent majority, they can investigate after the fact.

Absolutely, Jack.
No man of any position should be able to get away with the crimes he has committed, the executive orders he has put in place and the
raping of our constitution.
Bush, Cheny, Rumsfield and any politician who had a part in
their breaking the law should serve time for their belief that they
are priviledged to do whatever they want.
Our country originated trying to get away from a king.

Let the historians and private prosecutors be the Bush’s administration’s judges. We’ve had enough distraction in politics as this would inevitably become just another dog and pony show circumventing valuable time and money.

Time for all of us to start on a path of new beginnings, new culture, new hope, and a new age of spiritual growth.

Congress should have done something months ago, when the second Iraq Intelligence report came out. Nothing significant has changed between then and now, so if there wasn’t enough then, there isn’t enough now. Unless, of course, Congress was putting party re-electability ahead of justice, in which case, we should launch an investigation into the actions of Congress.

If we just move on like many here write what about misleading us into the Iraq War. What about the people that died for us over there? What about the crippled veterans, ruined families and children without parents? Don’t we owe them to investigate and make sure this will never happen again. Shame on these people here writing to move on. History repeats itself if we do not learn from the past.

Gulf War I Veteran, Semper Fi

Jack, as much as I would like to see Bush-and-company don orange jumpsuits and head off to Gitmo, now is not the time for investigations. What’s left to investigate? We know what they have been up to for years, democrats just didn’t have the stones (or the votes) to go after them.
What America voted for last week was change and there are too many things need to get fixed first. Let’s put out the fire before we arrest the arsonists.

The history books will deal harshly with the Bush Administration and its illegalities and rotten politics. However, now is the time to just start over fresh with nonpartisanship that brings everybody to the table and allows everyone an equal say. We have unprecidented problems (many of which were caused or exascerbated by the Bush administration) and President-elect Obama will be inclusive and listen to all ideas, weigh the pros and cons, and make intelligent and fair decisions. His position on letting Joe Leiberman keep his place shows his willingness to set the past behind and move forward.

They should have started years ago. Bush and his cronies have destroyed this country and stripped us of our rights.

YES. The Dems will take an oath to support the Law and the Constitution of the United States. They should go after this Administration and those who broke the law, if for no other reason than to plug up the holes that allowed them to violate the law and the trust of the nation.

Yes they should. Specifically, they should find out why most every country had intelligence that was wrong regarding WMD in Iraq, which led us to Iraq in the first place. In addition, they should investigate Barney Frank and Chris Dodd regarding Fannie and Freddie. Find out why both were in the top four in campaign donations. Why they did not recognize the problems Fannie and Freddie were accumulating over time. Investigate all of them…democrats and republicans.

The people should investiagte George Bush and exile him, I think the overwhelming majority of us despise the man. After his trial I say we examine Obama’s ties to Tony Rezko.

It would be nice to see Bush, Cheney, Rove and the Hammer fried, but they’ve covered their behinds by now. Mr. Obama has a plate full that the repubs are leaving for him to clean up for them. You better hope and pray that Lipstick does not get in in 2012 or 2016 or we will have an even bigger mess, you know clothes, kids trips, money to live in her own house, etc. Hummmmm!!!

Yeah, that would be a great project after the 2012 elections. At the moment, the enablers who voted in lock-step with Bush and Cheney don’t want their voting records tarnished with his abuses. They’d block any investigation with all their might. Holding the Bush administration accountable is very, very important, but it is too politically costly given the number of crisises we are facing.

Yes they should. The Bush Administration has done too much harm to this country. They have compromised and politicized the Justice Department. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. No bid contracts to Halliburton. The last scandal with those who were in charge of the oil contracts. It is too much they should have to answer. It is amazing to me that Cheney, Rove and others who were ordered to appear before Congress could just ignore it. Bush has left too much of a mess for Obama and the rest of us to clean up.

No Jack…the democrats should not and this is coming from an ardent Barack Obama supporter. Have you seen the state of the country and what all President Elect Obama has on his plate? He has to tackle health care, the economic crisis, the housing foreclosure crisis, Iraq, Afghanistan, the educational crisis and much more not to even mention the promises he made to the middle class concerning tax cuts. I believe it would be foolish to get bogged down in a long drawn out investigation all simply to lay blame on Bush and his fellow warhawks. If we are truthful…then we all share in the blame to some extent by either voting him in or by not demanding more accountability. The situation dealing with torture should be handled rather speedily though to help restore the standing of our great nation in the world and to help send a clear message that the American people do not endorse the tactics of the Bush administration concerning basic human rights even during a time of war.

I think Congress should take care of this Country and the mess we are in and forget Bush, there are more pressing problems. They have wasted the past two years, I hope they get something done over the next few years. The people want positive action from Congress and fix this economy asap.

Absolutely……they need to be prosecuted for all the crimes we have seen committed by the Bush administration….jail time and forfeiture of their federal pensions……why impeachment proceedings weren’t initiated long ago is beyond me….but once out of office, they cannot use the executive privilege shield they have been hiding behind over the last 8 years…the impeachment fiasco for Bill Clinton is absolute hogwash compared to what Bush and Cheney have done and thus far gotten away with…..wipe those arrogant smirks off their faces and give them what they truly deserve….good riddance to both of them….

Jack,
As much as I would like to say yes to this question, it saddens me to say that it’s best that we allow that administration to fade quickly into the night and never, ever elect a Bush into the presidency again. If President Bush wanted to be a real American then he should tell the federal government to keep his and VP Cheney’s pension for the next 4 years and apply it to the economic relief fund.

Bush was a phony president because he ignored the Constitution and the law. If we ignore the Constitution and the law we’ll be phony citizens. America is not a phony country. Let’s show some respect and hold the culpable accountable.

Jack;
Yes; it’s a good idea, but perhaps a bit late. The Democrats won a landslide Congressional victory in 2006, due to GOP shortfalls, and the Iraq war. Trouble was: Nancy Pelosi ,”Impeachment is off the table!”
Besides; there is no need to investigate the Bush administration; all the evidence has been published and printed, no need to spend more taxpayer money.
RI

It should have been done 2 years ago but no one had any balls. Of course much of the blame for what they got away with was our fault. We RE-Elected them!

Jack: With the state of the economy and the troubling times facing Americans, Obama needs to concentrate on resolving the country problems. Americans know who puts us in the mess…and it was not only George W. Bush–there is enough blame to go around. The government cannot even figure out the mess of the bailout–do you think they are going to impeach a EX-President? History will record George Bush’s legacy—let history take care of George Bush–let Obama strive “NOW” to try heal a nation.

Yes but it should be an independent counsel that investigates –Congress & the Administration need to focus on fixing the mess left behind. If illegal activities are discover (or should I say when) there should be prosecution.

Democratic and Republican members of Congress need to jointly conduct comprehensive public hearings on all aspects of the Bush Administration. The quote of the famous philospher George Santayana applies: “Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it,” Minimally, the Congress must investigate the behind-the-scenes facts concerning the 9/11 attacks, the immediate U.S. response, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, how all the war funds were spent, who profited, etc. Finally, the current economic meltdown needs to be fully examined. If we fail to fully explore these matters, we will be condemned to repeat our mistakes.

Most definitely! How else can we move forward without fixing what has been a blatant disgregard of the foundations of our democracy - our Constitution, our laws, and international laws and treaties.

Had it been in the best interests of the American people, Bush/Cheney would have been impeached and removed from office long ago. The Democratic leadership took that option off the table several years ago.

The best course is to do nothing right now, sign the long overdue treaties that the current Administration blew off, and let their victims go after them both in the International Criminal Courts for war crimes in a few years.

The American people have been victimized, but not nearly as much as the Administration has wounded others in the world. Our only action as a nation should be to take steps to see that others give them a fair trial. That’s a lot more than the two of them gave to others.

I have faith that the Obama Administration will have the cajones to do what we elected the Democrat’s to do in 2006.

There needs to be accountability for the Bush Administration. They have committed war crimes…..crimes against our civil liberties……they should be procecuted.

i think the bush administration should be investigated because there were numerous violations of the constitution all of that crooked bunch bush,cheyney,rove ect should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,the question is ,will congress do it?

What don’t we already know? Just look at the results of the past 8 years. What would be done about it anyway? We got screwed but we asked for it. Now we are “reaping what we have sown.”

Yes if they can find any trail left behind. The Bush people have been shredding their paper and hard disc trail all year long.

Ordinarily I would say yes, if there is evidence of wrongdoing. But I am not convinced that the Democrats controlling Congress themselves know the difference between making mistakes and deliberately causing harm. What some of your small-minded viewers call “crimes” are simply not and calling them so is their little form of hate speech for policies they didn’t like. Some of those “criminal” policies have kept us from terrorist attacks over the past 7 years, by the way.

Jack it would be a waste of time and money in my opinion. History will tell all the tales of the Bush administration in time. Asking the United States Congress to put anyone or anything under the magnifying glass would require them to reveal secrets about their own part in it. That includes voting for the war in the first place. They are all culpable Jack.. All that any of them had to do was say ‘NO’ before it started.
Perhaps the next time such a question of war comes up they will think twice.

I would be inclined to say yes, but we have to be very careful how we set our priorities. I’m fairly sure it would be a very difficult thing to do. They have had plenty of time to erase or shred any evidence. Our resources are going to be spread thin, and I don’t think spending our tax dollars convicting Bush and Company will go very far in getting our jobs back, repair our 401K’s, or bring our fallen soldiers back.

It would be to little to late and most likely most information would come up missing never to be found. Time could be better used tying to fix the mess we all know they made to know the reason is kinda pointless.

No, there are too many problems that require their undivided attention. Besides, who doubts that President Bush will pardon everyone before he leaves office? A Commission should be appointed to perform the investigation. History needs to record the crimes that were done in our name.

Ed Reed
Port Aransas, Tx

As much as Bush and Cheney need to be impeached and held accountable, we should not waste a moment of time plus spending millions of dollars in this futile effort. They are the past and should be tossed into the ash heap of history. There are too many pressing concerns that President-elect Obama’s new administration faces without his Justice Department being mired down with an investigation that should have been conducted years ago. Let’s start anew and put this shameful period in our country’s history behind us.

NO NO NO!!!!

No the Dems, but an international war crimes tribunal should.

If it can be done, expect Geoprge Bush to pardon those in his administration that did anything illegal.

Not investigated, but exposed in all of its non-glory. Bush Inc. has left this country in such perilous times that we don’t have time or resources to waste justifiably nailing him and his cronies to the cross. So rather than investigate, Bush Inc’’s punishment should be the AG and Congress doing and publishing a line-by-line contrast of its crimes and misdemeanors against the U.S. Constitution, the law of the land and our citizenry, That way, the whole crew can go to their graves knowing that there will be no hiding place in the history books. And probably no redemption in the hereafter either.

I have to agree with the majority of the people who have posted who are torn over this issue. I’d love to see the Bush administration held accountable, but in the long run, what good will it do? Our priorities have to be in repairing the damage those responsible parties have wrought, and it will take all our resources, energy, and available funds to do that.

Let history judge them for their criminal acts, and let’s concentrate on healing and restoring this country to its former glory.

Jack,

How do you investigate ignorance and stupidity?

Robert
Forest, VA

Criminal activity is scourge of society and if they let anyone from the Bush administration off the hook just because it is deemed there is too much else on the go or it is time for both parties come together and not be split by the investigation then you should just empty out all your jails and let the criminals out on the street as that would also save a lot of money.

Once administrations know they can be tried for crimes they will think twice before embarking on such tactics in the future.

Jack
What in the world would come out of this ? Lets forget this non-sense and get on with the business at hand, straightening out the mess this country is in. And oh by the way the democrats hands arent clean, Pelosi and Reid havent done a real good job preventing George from doing whatever he wanted.

Yes,absolutely. I believe they should wait unitl Obama is President. Let a Special Prosecutor be appointed and definitely follow through with the consequences. No pardons nor leniency.

I do not think it is a good idea for Democrats to investigate the Bush administration and it is just the same political infighting and divisiveness that keeps out country wasting money on issues where they are not needed. Instead the Democrats should focus on the important people issues like making sure that Americans have a safe and affordable place to live, adequate health coverage, and healthy food products.

Yes! Absolutely!
Bush has made Nixon look like an altar boy.
The Bush administration has ignored more than a dozen legal and constitutional subpoenas. In some cases, Bush personally advised civilian former emloyees not to respond to subpoenas.
We would all be in front of a judge within days if any of us did anything like that. Enforcing the law of the land and defending the Constitution are absolutely required of this administration if they expect any of us to ever vote for a Democrat again.

Rich Green
San Clemente, Cal.

Make sure they get a fair trial and then ship them off to Gitmo!

My thoughts on this is that the Obama administration needs to examine the evidence “as is” to determine first whether such an investigation is merited or would do more harm than good at a time when bi-partisan relations and soloutions seem to be an important matter to all concerned. If decided that enough evidence indicates improper, illegal, or unconstitutional use of power was made, then an investigation is more than justified and should be followed through to the end. I suspect that this is the case but let’s hope those in possession of such evidence will make the right decisions this time!

Waste of time. The Dem need to move on. A new day has come.

Yes On 1-21-09

Immediately! Indictments and prosecution should follow in rapid order. Keep Gitmo open for the mass of criminals to be incarcerated from the Bush administration.

Let’s see waterboarding, no weapons of mass destruction, civil liberty violations (I could go on and on) … versus Clinton and the Monica Lewinsky issue. Bush and Cheney should be investigated and stripped of all federal employee benifits when found guilty. Continuing their federal employee benefits of health insurance and pensions would be yet another crime against Americans!!

International war crimes tribunal for Bush and Cheney. Obama has way to much to do for us, the American middle class and getting this country back on track after Bush and Cheney rapped all us in the name of capitalism!!!

I hope they will, but the majority of democrats all were in favour of the iraq war, the patriot act, and offered little resistance to Bush’s policies and his neocon agenda these past 8 years. They were elected in 2006 to end the Iraq war and failed in doing so. Ill be happily shocked if the Obama administration tries to bring this criminal syndicate known as the Bush Administration to justice.

Toronto Ontario

Some day the Bush Administration should be investigated on many fronts. Right now, the Democrats would seem petty for investigating them when they have so many bigger issues to tackle.

This should have been undertaken in 2006.Too bad our current Congress is not like the one that took Nixon,etc. to task.We now have far too many serious foreign and domestic problems to deal with-thanks to Bush and his cronies-to spend the time and energy on these matters.History will not judge this bunch kindly.

NO! Please let Bush and Cheney go back to Texas and Wyoming to spend their lives in “quiet reflection” of all the impossible situations they have put the U.S. into. President Obama does NOT need the attention of the Nation directed to investigations and prosecutions that will ultimately lead to results that will be overturned by a conservative Supreme Court.

If there is a reasonable question as to whether laws were broken, then an investigation by competent authority is needed, with indictments to follow. Such investigations have happened in the past and I don’t see anything to prevent one now.

However, it’s not against the law to be stupid, cynical, power-hungry, or greedy. Bush, Cheney, and a lot of their appointees should be eternally grateful for that.

The highlight of my life would be watching George W. Bush and Dick Cheney sentenced to long prison terms for Constitutional violations. Unfortunately the Speaker would take these “off the table”.

Perhaps there is a way to sufficiently embarass cerrtain officials for illegal or incompetent behavior, such as an official censure, without actually going through the rigors and cost of an investigation.
Granted, things worth investigating happened, but do we need more devisiveness right now, when the election itself was a mandate against the current administartion? These things also have a way of biting you back four years down the line.

Is there a statute of limitations on this? If so, Obama and the Congress could Pencil it in for a time down the road. Otherwise, there are just too many problems to be dealt with NOW. I’d love nothing better than to see Bush and Cheney behind bars!!

No. That was not a referendum in the just concluded election. President-elect Obama is not that kind of a leader. He does not look back. He is forward looking and progressive. If bad Democrats steer him in that direction, his love affair with America will vanish overnight, not to mention that it will be a waste of the scarce taxpayer resources.
Ihek, NY

They should have done that 8 years ago!!

Yes! They should be investigated for the 9/11 attacks, for blaming Saddam for being resposible for that attack, for lying about weapons of mass destruction, and for outing Valerie Plame.

History will judge Bush and his administration. There are so many pressing problems in this country and we need all our efforts focused on them. Less talk and more action is what we need. Let’s work together, because if we don’t we are in big trouble.

Wouldn’t it be nice!!!! But here in the real world it won’t happen. I would be happy with Congress making a proclamation of “No Confidence” in this administration and make it a matter of public record and history!!

If, once he’s inaugurated, President Obama wishes to appoint a special investigator to go back and look at illegalities during the Bush presidency, I would support that. If, on the other hand, he wishes to use agencies that should be doing other things I would oppose that. We need all parts of government to be looking forward, not backward unless specifically created to look backwards.

I would prefer to put the past eight years behind us and have the elected
officials concentrate on our future. It will be sufficient if they help get us out of our currently mess and lead the world into the future most of us believe is possible.

Jack,

I would love nothing more than seeing current and former members of the administration like Rumsfeld, Rove, Gonzalez, Cheney and yes even Powell hung out to dry by the Democrats for lying to the world and committing attrocities over the past 8 years. However, I don’t think it would be in the county’s best interest, or President Elect Obama’s best interest to pursue an investigation. History will be the best judge of this administration and my only fear is that because President Bush doesn’t study history he will therefore never know how much harm he has caused to this country nor feel any remorse.

You betcha we should, starting with Cheney and going all the way down to Rove. However, we have wasted enough money on this team and should move on - quickly!

Yes, and the Alaska legislature should investigate the possible misuse of state funds for the recent Republican V-P bid.

Yes, but I suspect Bush will grant immunity to everyone, including himself. There is so much wrong with our economy that it should take priority one, closely followed by a workable plan for ending our involvement in Iraq and getting Bin Laden and his minions. If the Obama Administration undertakes investigating past crimes of the Bush Administration, the investigation may eclipse any good the Obama team does.

Jack,

An investigation will only prove that George Bush is a shallow thinker who was easily bullied by Rumsfeld and Cheney - and their ilk. They used poor W to achieve their ambitions at the expense of the nation.

Better to focus on Obama putting a more constructive team together.

Absolutely. It should be a big investigation in to everything they have done illegally in the last 8 years. And no pardon! It would be enough to scare Bush down to his new South American ranch that no one can extradite from, that has all the water he’s wanting to sell to the US in the future.

You Betcha! The Bush Administration have Nearly Destroyed America,Ilegal war,Lies, Spying on us. yes sir They need to be held accountable,Throw the Bums in Jail.

The Dems and the World Court both need to look into it. This administrations impropriaties go far beyond our own laws and the Constitiution. For our part, we need another dozen Ken Starrs looking into every aspect of Bush, Cheney and Rove. I think we we all realize now that Bush was the puppet “front guy” for the masterminds of this disaster. If whistle-blowers in the intelligence community come forward after January 20, as recent stories indicate, there should be a lot of fodder for a crimal investigation. We can not let them get away with this abomination. No way!

Only if Obama wants to repeat Clinton’s mistake of wasting the early days of his administration on lesser issues, and thereby lose focus for most of his presidency. Eight years is not as long as it sounds — he needs to make good use of every day.

Jack,

Yes and we will call it karma …. without charging them with anything specific, Bush and his entire administration should be held in custody for the next several years!

Yes. I know there are lots of pressing issues we need to solve, but we just can’t let these criminals off scott-free. We prosecute everyday criminals for robbery, assault, etc. The Bush Administration has so badly damaged this country with its illegal activites and should have to pay for their crimes.

No. It shouldn’t be the Dems, it should be done in the name of all Americans.

I think Bush did what he had to do for our country under the circumstances. I don’t hold anything against him whatsoever!

I think that the only way this sort of abuse of power can be prevented in the future is to punish the perpetrators who did it this time.
As much as I’d like to say “good riddance” to the whole crooked gang, I cannot get out of my mind the simple fact that more than 4,000 Americans have given their lives and more than 20,000 have been horribly injured fighting an unjust war thrust upon us through deception and out-and-out lying.
We owe it to these American souls, living and dead, and their relatives to do out best to guarantee that this sort of atrocity will not go unpunished. It will also send a message to the whole world that the U.S. is going to do the right thing.
Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld belong in jail. How can they sleep at night?
If it smells like treason, sounds like treason, and looks like treason, it’s treason.

Bush should be fully investigated and held accountable according to the law, just like any other american citizen who is suspected of crimes.

Yes,Yes,Yes!

Go for it. If they could hold the Dems responsible, why should they hide their dirty laundry? Is there something that they are ashamed of?
Or, afraid that the American public will find out what has been
really on for the last eight years?

Obama should wait until he’s solved more pressing, national issues. Otherwise, he’ll be pegged by conservatives as an out of control and power hungry dog out to rip apart the remaining Republican establishment.

No, what good would it do when Bush is still the president and holds the power of immunity, pardons and justices that he has appointed. Furthermore, it was Nancy Pelosi who was against impeachment of Bush which closed the door for Democrats to do any investigation.

It’s too late for impeachment, so what’s the point! As much as I would like to see all of the crooks prosecuted, it would only cause more bitterness and division in this country, and we need to all pull together, at this point, to survive!

YES! - If the outrages that the Bush Administration are not brought to full light then we are bound to face the same behavior in the future - the Legislature needs a full scale investigation not into “what went wrong” but into what wrongs were done - what Laws were broken and what oversights must be put into place to restore and maintain our checks and balances system. We need to know ourselves and to show the World that we are a Nation of Laws and no one is above that Law, not even the Executive Branch.

Without a doubt let the investigations begin and let the chips fall where they may. Arrogance and ignorance are a terrible combination which this administration had in abundance. We should all know how Bush and his cronies got us to where we are now. Hopefully future American leaders will not make so many mistakes again.

This country is so divided along partisan lines that any investigation would be harmful to future stability. It’s sad that we let people get away with crimes because of things like this, but I guess that’s just life. There’s always hope that the people over in The Hague will run an investigation.

There’s no time like the present, Jack.

Jack ,
Why would we ever want to investigate George ,Dick and the Gang? I mean, it’s not like they stole an election or started a bogus war or two or three or wiped out a nation’s vast surplus or sent a country into an economic disaster and definately not guilty of paying back their political backers in some insanely lucrative way at taxpayer expense.
Let’s instead recognize them for their huge contributions to the needy like Haliburton, the struggling oil cartels, and impoverished Wall Street and give them their just do Surely there must be a few golden parachutes left (with cut cords hopefully) when they fly out of town after inaugeration day on their jets that oopps somehow never got refueled because of layed off maintenance workers..

If we were talking about mistakes, going too far, or political shenanigans, I would agree to move on. Unfortunately, there are crimes that may have been committed. Intentionally and with malice aforethought. The intentional fraudulent propaganda campaign to get us into a war that made tremendous fortunes for a few chosen companies, the intentional use of U.S. attorneys to affect election outcomes through frivolous prosecutions, It’s a long list, and I’m sure Dennis Kucinich has it all documented. Thses are crimes that should involve punishment, and to ignore them is to invite their recurrence.

Jack a big part of me wants to say yes to your question. It makes my blood boil when I think about all of the illegal activity that went on in the Bush administration, with little or no investigation into it. But with all the problems the Bush administration have left us, I think we should concentrate on solving our economy and the two wars we’re currently engaged in. We need to come together and work together as a nation in order to accomplish this. Investigating and prosecuting the outgoing administration for the crimes they committed is not a good idea at this time.

MOST DEFINITELY, with focus on Cheney. Bush was a puppet. And put some earmarks to pay for the investigation on some Republican bills, especially ones from Alaska.

Oh, yes. Bush should have been impeached. It isn’t right to keep shoving it under the rug and “taking it off the table.”

No. We have too many troubles in front of us right now to get bogged down in partisan politics.

no, it’s a waste of time and money. They need to focus on the issues at hand and stop pointing fingers and moaning over spilt milk.

I’d like to say yes I believe that the Bush administration has behaved very unethically if not illegally. However, I am not in favor of wasting any more of the governments resources trying to blackball an administration that has already successfully blackballed itself. The money and time that would go into any investigation could be better spent trying to tackle the real issues that the government is facing. Even if the Bush administration did have a hand getting us into this mess in the first place.

Yes Jack. Dems should be swarming the oval office like flies to make sure no incriminating documents are destroyed. Joe Biden and Rahm
Emanuel should dress in black like cat burglars and make the
Watergate break- ins look like panty raids.

Absolutely. Those who don’t make the extended last minute Presidential Pardon list should be prepared to do serious time. And the extent of the administrative criminal negligence should be trumpeted so loudly during these investigations as to taint the name of any Bush or Cheney who ever again wants to pretend to lead this country down some ridiculous, ill thought, self-righteous direction. We’ve had all the stupidity the country can absorb. Time for the adults to run things for awhile.

Yes. I think the American people have a right to know what took place in the Bush Administration.

This should be number one on the agenda. We need to find out what really happened during the last 8 years.

They should have started a long time ago, but if anything had been found out, Bush would have just squashed it, but there isn’t a lot he can do if it is done after he leaves office. Its never to late to bring justice.

Prosecute them all and let God sort them out–heaven knows the Bush Administration violated the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the US Constitution, and abused their offices for their own gains while the poor, once again, pay the bill.

Jack, we all would be in jail if anyone of us committed the types of crimes and ethics violations the Bush administration did for the last eight years.

A special team (investigators, lawyers, etc) should be appointed and if anything is found, prosecution needs to proceed. If no laws were broken, end it.

Jack, yes, if everything in the world did not demand immediate attention. Luckily, the Bush administration knows this and is confident that the new administration can’t waste any time taking them to court. If it did happen, then, they would simply find another scapegoat to exasperate the judicial system.

Let sleeping dogs lie! The American people have spoken! The Bush Administration is dead! Let’s move on to a new era of American history and political harmony. We must unite as a people and forge ahead for a new future.

Turn the page, close the book, move on. Take the millions that would have been spent on such “work” and use it to address real problems and issues we face.

When would the Democrats have any time to do anything else? The Bush legacy is so deep& long, it would take YEARS to find and then prosecute them for ALL their atrocities.

No! have him investigate both parties. Or better yet have the Republican investigate the Dems. Democrats are the party in control of congress and soon to be the White House. Then maybe we can keep them honest. There is nothing like fear to keep you honest.

Yes. Not necessarily to bring charges against people, although I am not saying this shouldn’t be done, but to ensure that lessons are learned from the mistakes that have been made. It’s no good brushing everything under the carpet and pretending it didn’t happen - that would just make the democrats look complicit by virtue of intentionally ignoring the issues.

Hi JAck,

they will be blame in doing so of creating more chaos and division…unless some laws have really been broken and created some precedent injustices. But the principle should be to tell the American people every little unpleasant surprise they may discover in order to protect themselves!

I think the dems should investigate themselves. Bush protected our country from terrorists.

Never mind the Bush administration, what about Congress? Bush didn’t do it alone, and both Republicans and Democrats have controlled various parts of Congress during the past 8 years. The voters have continued to send the vast majority of incumbents back to Congress term after term. Tell me again how that brings about change.

Personally, I would love to see investigations being done. That being said, the Democrats should not be chasing the Bush administration if they want to make sure this transition and Obama’s presidency is not about partisanship. The clearest way to convey that message to conservatives is to work together and leave history to conclude that George W. Bush was a complete failure.

When an official’s malfeasance results in the substantial loss of life, property, assets, and reputation, it is the constitutionally mandated responsibility of the people to act in a manner that deters future leaders from acting in a similar manner. A failure to act will undermine rule of law and send a message to the people that justice operates under a dual standard, one from which the rich and powerful are exempt and one where the common man has no chance.

No, Nothing would happen and it would be a diversion from what needs to be done now.

I think the lesson the citizens need to take from the entire Bush administration…. We need to take our share of responsibility for being politically apathetic for decades…..we the people cannot “check out” from paying attention to what Washington is doing or what it is not doing.

Vote out the elected that don’t get things done they way we want and elect new people.

Washington has known the citizens have a short attention span….we must show we have changed. We have allowed them to go back to Washington year after year while accomplishing very little and enabled them to continue the status quo.

Yea they should. They should have awhile ago and probably even impeached the whole Bush administration for starting a war in Iraq without any proof of the accusations they made. If you ask me Bush was on vacation for the past 8 years.

Jack; The investigations started a year ago because there are so many and thus will not be exposed until Bush is out of office as to stop the many pardons.

What good would an investigation do? If the investigation does not recover money that we, the taxpayers, have already lost, it will simply be an exercise in futility. The Democrats would be better off using their time at focusing on moving this country foward, not looking in the rearview mirror.

Erik
McDonough, GA

I don’t even want to know what went on. It’s just nice to know they are out of there soon!

How fast can they get started and do you think they’ll look good in orange.

The ideology of the super executive branch unanswerable to law that it does not agree with and able to ignore the basic constitutional guarantees of due process, association, and press simply by standing upon the principle of Executive Privilege as a form of unwritten extra-constitutional power.
The reinstitution of crony politics into the civil services just like dear old great grand dad had before the 20th century.
Why would anyone want to bring that out?