Shorter David Broder:
We must not investigate the war crimes committed by the Bush administration because doing so would give the Dirty Fucking Hippies a sense of satisfaction.
Their argument is that without identifying and punishing the perpetrators, there can be no accountability -- and therefore no deterrent lesson for future administrations. It is a plausible-sounding rationale, but it cloaks an unworthy desire for vengeance.
Hilzoy has more. And to be fair, so too does Mr. Broder.
Yes - the Dean of Beltway Toolitude goes on to warn all Very Serious Persons in Real America that there is still more to fear than just letting the DFH think they were right.
The memos on torture represented a deliberate, and internally well-debated, policy decision, made in the proper places -- the White House, the intelligence agencies and the Justice Department -- by the proper officials.
One administration later, a different group of individuals occupying the same offices has -- thankfully -- made the opposite decision. Do they now go back and investigate or indict their predecessors?
That way, inevitably, lies endless political warfare. It would set the precedent for turning all future policy disagreements into political or criminal vendettas. That way lies untold bitterness -- and injustice. (emphasis mine)
Hmm. Except for his use of the word "torture" (which in polite company is known as pulling a boehner), Mr. Broder appears to be on the same wavelength as - you guessed it:
Karl Rove: Is that what we've come to in this country? That if we have a change in administration from one party to another, that we then use the tools of the government to go systematically after the policy disagreements that we have with the previous administration? Now that may be fine in some little Latin American country that's run by, you know, the latest junta. It may be the way that they do things in Chicago. But that's not the way we do things here in America.(emphasis mine)
Karl and David must surely be yearning for the good ol' days...
"Let me disclose my own bias in this matter. I like Karl Rove," wrote David Broder, the lead political columnist for the Washington Post, on May 18, 2003. "In the days when he was operating from Austin, we had many long and rewarding conversations. I have eaten quail at his table and admired the splendid Hill Country landscape from the porch of the historic cabin Karl and his wife Darby found miles away and had carted to its present site on their land."