"Lack of public outrage weakens his hand." I see no outage in this editorial so I guess it's business as usual in the good old USA.

I don't agree at all that Obama owns the previous administration's policies whatsoever. They belong to Bush, and to us. Bush perpetrated them, and we let him. Obama has nothing to do with them. Zero.

Since the moment the man was in office - the moment - he and we have been inundated with the important, the slightly serious and the picayune. 24/7 news cycles, unlimited posting of gripes, cynicism, enthusiasm, idiocy. Pundits, talking heads, bloggers, lowly opinion posters. Our media never rests - it whips us up into frenzies about every single issue that comes down the pike. Nothing is more or less important than the other. Obama failed the day after elected, he failed before being elected, we're pre-failed as a country, a culture, past our prime.

Meanwhile we have a man in office who is doing almost exactly what we've said many of us have wanted for decades. He staffs extremely well and acts prudently and reasonably. He's dealing with global warming, Bush's broken economy, inherited wars, health care, women's rights. And he inspires us, when we care to listen rather than snipe (Paglia take notice); inspires in fact a great deal of the world (the African speech was wonderful). In a few months he's put us back on the map as leaders, good-guys.

Our problem is that the only way we can see change anymore is if it's top-loaded. If Obama hasn't done it for us, it can't or won't be done. We don't write our congressmen, we write here. We rail against the bars of our cages, we pick fights with the locals - instead of rattling our jailers and making change ourselves. Obama didn't jail us - Bush did.

Yes, I too want Eric Holder to investigate the issues at hand - Cheney's re-routing of our government - but I know that once he starts, that issue will subsume everything else. Everything. It's a flash point that the Republicans will jump on at the expense of every single other issue. And so will the media - no health care or economic relief, complex solutions that are hard to effect and harder to observe. It's he-said, Cheney-said - sound-bite theater. Why isn't Obama dealing with it? Why the hell did we let it happen in the first place?

What part of our media atmosphere isn't exhausted by that flame will be sucked up by Obama and gay marriage, Obama and Israel, Obama and polar bears, Obama and 1,000 other important, not-so-important, but always heartfelt agendas. And we'll watch the clock tick away his term, like Clinton's. We'll argue, we'll thrash, we'll howl, we'll applaud - at the media circus which feeds on.........Obama vs. Bush. We'll relive the last 8 years, rather than plan for the next 50.

If Holder and Obama investigate, it's because they're decent people and good elected officials - because it's warranted, and because we want it. But it's not because they own a thing. Bush did it.

And we own it. Let's make our wishes known. and then help them be effective.

Wow, there are people who still imagine the Dems will actually do something about this? It's clear the Dems don't have the spine for it; the time for punishment and acting on each new scndalous leak of info is long gone. The Dems simply do not know how to leverage a scandal. They proved that for 8 long years.

It will now stand that it's perfectly fine for the right to misuse the nation, and run roughshod over the constitution. You think it was distressing what the Bush admin did, this time? Wait till you see what the GOP does next time, now that they know the Dems will be complete pussies after the fact. When their new excesses/crimes come, you won't be able to seriuously blame Bush anymore. The legacy of Bush's crimes will ultimately be Obama's fault for not going after these fuckers. Do yourself a favor, let it go. I gave up this dream a month or two into Obama's regin, when he proved to be the usual fraidy-Dem.

Let's all sing "Kumbayah" and maybe all our most difficult decisions will just go away.

Are we a nation governed by law, or a nation governed by politics.

If we're governed by politics we are no better than a third-world banana republic.

-- He's not pushing for (anything like) the heathcare he promised.

-- utter lack transparency in Administration

-- claim of power to continue imprisonment of "enemies" indefinitely even if acquitted at trial

-- multi-billion gifts to domestic banking elite

-- trillions gone to places even Bloomberg isn't allowed to find (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aatlky_cH.tY)

-- expansion of wars overseas

-- DOMA and DADT Admin. and Justice rulings unsatisfactory to party constituents

-- still no work for millions promised stimulus (for 700 billion dollars)

-- wholesale reneging on promise to put critical legislation on the internet for 5 days for the People to see before Congressional votes are cast

-- mass hiring of lobbyists in the Administration after he told everyone he wouldn't

-- refusal to indict prior Administration officials for torture

He is pushing for healthcare. Talk to the GOP if healthcare reform doesn't happen.

He is standing down in Iraq (as promised).

He is building forces in Afghanistan (as promised).

General Motors has emerged from bankruptcy.

Eight years of Bush's criminal mismanagement will take a helluva lot longer than six months to fix.

when he dropped the investigation and refused to prosecute the Black Panthers who are on film intimidating and keeping people from voting in Philadelphia, PA? If white people had even hinted at doing this to blacks in Mississippi, the Feds would have sent out the every prosecutor at their disposal and the National Guard to back them up!

With all the REAL problems going on now, do you really expect the American people to be outraged because of anything that was done to terrorists? I mean, the mastermind of 9/11 was/is in Gitmo, and they can't get the countries of origin of these terrorists to take them back!

This is the silliest piece of "outrage" I've ever seen - grow up people!