…… and to protect and defend the Constitution, a president must do more than obey the Constitution himself; he must hold those who violate the Constitution accountable. So Mr. Obama should reconsider his apparent decision to let the previous administration get away with crime. Consequences aside, that’s not a decision he has the right to make.

During the Reagan years, the Iran-contra conspirators violated the Constitution in the name of national security.

But the first President Bush pardoned the major malefactors, and when the White House finally changed hands the political and media establishment gave Bill Clinton the same advice it’s giving Mr. Obama: let sleeping scandals lie. Sure enough, the second Bush administration picked up right where the Iran-contra conspirators left off ? which isn’t too surprising when you bear in mind that Mr. Bush actually hired some of those conspirators.

If we don?t have an inquest into what happened during the Bush years, this means that those who hold power are above the law and can abuse their power. …[MORE]

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References:

1. Bush’s Greatest Failure: The Call That Bush Didn’t Make — By David S. Broder
2. Mr. Bush at His Best and Worst — A WAPO Editorial
3. Obama on the Final Lap of His Journey to Presidency — By Eli Saslow, Michael Ruane and Howard Schneider — Washington Post Staff Writers. Saturday, January 17, 2009
4. Obama looks to Lincoln for inspiration — For Obama, Lincoln was model president: President-elect Barack Obama makes no secret of his admiration for the 16th president of the United States. Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is the inspiration for Obama’s inaugural theme, organizers say. Today’s whistlestop-like train trip follows that taken by Lincoln. And Obama will use the Lincoln Bible for his inauguration. [FULL STORY]

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