Obama Dances Awkwardly With Bush Policies
No matter which way he turns, President Obama can't seem to shake the legacy of George W. Bush's presidency. On two issues this week, the Obama administration broke with and embraced the policies of his predecessor, drawing criticism on successive days from both ends of the political spectrum.</br></br>The biggest break came with the decision Monday by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to initiate an investigation into allegations of detainee abuse by CIA interrogators and contractors.</br></br>Obama, who in his first days as president ordered an end to the agency's harshest interrogation techniques, has said repeatedly that he does not wish to re-litigate the past or subject officials to criminal prosecution if they believed they were operating within parameters approved by their superiors. Holder's decision undercuts Obama's desire to move forward.</br></br>The appointment of career prosecutor John H. Durham to determine whether there is enough evidence to warrant prosecutions does not guarantee that criminal charges will be filed. But the decision keeps the controversy alive indefinitely at a time when Obama has more than enough controversies to occupy him.</br></br>The decision pleased neither liberal nor conservative critics. Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, argued that there is more than enough evidence to warrant prosecutions and accused Holder of "appeasing the political interests in Washington."