Of COURSE Bush will issue the pardon. Since when has this illegal regime masquerading as the Executive Branch of our government done otherwise? Accountability is a foreign term to Bush and his lot and his legacy is so tarnished already, one more massive "flip of the bird" to the American public is well within his infantile thinking.

I hope he does it. Then we would have all the circumstantial evidence we'd need to convict Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld in the court of public opinion. I can't imagine any respected historian rising to their defense after Bush's de facto admission to all the lawlessness. Lets not forget the naked attempt and aggressive lobbying on behalf of the telecoms for aiding in Bush's illegal wiretapping scheme. I would bet we could find some very clever legal minds to find a way to bring charges against this bunch. President Obama initiates the aforementioned investigation and finally this mess all gets dragged into the light of day. If we succeed in vilifying Bush, Cheney, and the rest of the neocon criminals who abetted their criminal behavior, then perhaps their apologists would finally shut up and skulk off to never be heard from again.

So tell me ... Why was impeachment off the table?

Well stated Mr. Sirota, unfortunately it's rather like closing the barn door ....

The trouble with our country these days is the major media is asleep at the switch and the aggressively ignorant shout down people like you and I. It's the same old s**t, different day.

You can't argue with these people because their one-track minds lock onto something and the spin meisters tell them what to think. Their ignorance and illogic are so stupifying it's impossible to hold a reasoned debate. Instead we shut up and when it all goes down the chuck-hole we get cold comfort in saying we told you so.

Honestly I have no idea how this is going to change and when us "adults" get to start running things. We must continue to do our best and perhaps the American public will suffer so mightily that maybe, just maybe they'll actually pay attention next time.

... but I think it was yet another unabashed cash grab by the greedy power elite who care not a whit of what happens to this country as long as they can protect their wealth. Can we finally declare the economic policies of the Reaganites dead and buried? Trickle down has finally been exposed as the joke and farce that it is.

Of course Paulson and Bernanke had to pour cash down the chuck-hole that is Wall Street. It's where they came from and protecting their pals is all they cared about. Certainly they were panicked and clearly out of their depth when the whole Wall Street swindle imploded and human nature is to return to your core programming when panic sets in. So they did the only thing the knew and threw money at the problem. Why would they demand accountability and transparence and results when that is anathema to what they believe? Deregulation is nothing more than a code word for unaccountable actions to these people. Of course no one will be charged with anything and not a single exec will do prison time because that's how this crap always goes. It's why we're doomed to repeat this same scenario in a few years when the recession passes and short memories return.

Beware folks! These cycles are getting more frequent and closer together. We had the "dot-com crash" in the early 2000's, the "housing bubble" burst in 2007 and on it's heels the "oil speculation" bubble just a few months ago. As long as we allow our financial markets to remain largely unregulated and transparency continues to be a joke and no one ever gets charged with a crime, then these swindles will continue to be perpetrated on the American people. Greed will continue to be a prime motivator to these people who will always be looking for the next ponzi scheme, self-fullfilling financial "innovation". And of course when it all ends in tears the reliable American taxpayer will be there to pick up the tab and take the short end of the stick... again.

Declaring victory is all the neocons and Conservatives are good at any more. They declare victory because it's all they have. Demanding actual results would be to hold oneself accountable and, heaven forbid, require actual factual analysis of their actions. We all know that ain't gonna happen so we're left with hollow declarations and toothless policy from these jokers.