Because A Commission Would Satisfy Everybody

Fred Hiatt lectures Obama that if he doesn't intervene in the Justice Department and stop the possibility of the prosecution of CIA agents whose abuse of detainees exceeded what even Dick Cheney deemed allowable, there will be

a series of debilitating revelations, prosecutions and arguments that could drip-drip-drip through the full length of his presidency.

Yeah. Sure. Whatever. So what does Hiatt propose as an alternative?

But a fair-minded commission -- co-chaired by, say, former Supreme Court justices Sandra Day O'Connor and David Souter - could help the nation come to grips with its past and show the world that America is serious about doing so. It could help Americans understand how this country came to engage in what many regard as vile and un-American practices. It might help the country respond better the next time it is frightened.

Right. Because after the appointment of a commission led by a former Supreme Court Justice or two, lengthy hearings and, no doubt, an extremely long report summarizing their findings, everybody will be happy, there will be no accusations of cover-up or a conspiracy, and no further accusations or calls for investigation. No movies years later rehashing the cover-up and conspiracies. Nope, couldn't happen.

But I'm being unfair to Fred. This solution will make him happy, and that should be good enough for everybody else.