Catherine wrote:
I'm not one of those millions of people who want instant gratification. I support Obama so far...the man has been president for 79 days...and I'm reserving judgement on these particular issues for awhile because of the incredible mess Obama inherited after eight years of Republican rule. I never expected to agree with every decision Obama would make as president when I voted for him, and I don't think that will change. At the same time, I am not so arrogant that I pretend to know what it is that has actually been revealed by the wiretaps....if anything. AND I also want the Bush criminals to be put in jail...but that also is going to take time and investigation.
It's up to us, THE PEOPLE, to let our reps know that we do not want illegal wiretapping...period.
What do you think a President McCain would have done differently?
For the record, I voted for President Obama as well.
Mr. Obama need only direct AG Holder to appoint a special prosecutor. This special prosecutor would orchestrate the investigatory process, while Mr. Obama and Congress carried on with other important matters. According to a number of legal experts, some of the Bush crimes will soon become un-prosecutable due to statute of limitation expirations.
Moreover, it appears it's not merely that Mr. Obama hasn't yet gotten to these matters in the midst of the economic and war scenario turmoil. But rather, he's in fact upheld the current overbearing domestic wiretapping policies, encompassing the right to monitor, stockpile, and data mine all of our electronic communications. Eric Holder Justice Department attorneys have already asserted firm adherence to the Bush 'State Secrets' position in recent court cases, one challenging the government's right to wiretap American citizens, and the other challenging the government's involvement in instances of extraordinary rendition and torture. Representatives for the AG told the courts in both cases that such adherence to the same position had been fully vetted by the current administration.
If Mr. Obama refuses to give up the dangerous and unconstitutional powers that Bush and Cheney took for themselves, these tools will remain in place for use by the next corrupt, dictatorial ruler who manipulates a path to the White House. And sooner or later there
will be such a person. Whoever this person may be, and no matter how far into the future he or she comes to power, the individual will have carte blanche to utilize these preserved excessive powers in any manner chosen. He or she will thus be capable of undoing many or all of the other corrective measures that Mr. Obama and Congress will have implemented, along with all of the good that may stem from such. In part, this potential will be attributable to Mr. Obama's decision to retain certain unconstitutional presidential powers. It's with these very tools that a US president could conceivably make the Bush/Cheney reign look like child's play.
For the sake of our children and grandchildren, do you think it wise to risk leaving this looming threat alive and well for use by Executive Branch successors? I know I don't. Remember, the pendulum always swings back.