1/20/01 - 1/20/09: MAY WE NEVER FORGET

IN the waning hours of George W. Bush's presidency, it seems appropriate to take a few minutes to reflect on how truly horrific the last eight years have been. On second thought, a few minutes would be too much time to spend thinking about Bush on a day when millions of people from across the world are gathering on the National Mall to celebrate Barack Obama's inauguration. Yet as Bush & Company prepare to depart the scene, hopefully for good, the country must not fail to remember the tragic and despicable lawlessness that their time in office has represented.

In recent weeks Bush and his surrogates have made the rounds attempting to burnish the 43rd president's image by touting his administration's many accomplishments. Yet aside from claiming that history will prove they were correct to have invaded and occupied Iraq--a dubious claim, at best--the only major success they can assert is that they "kept the country safe after 9/11." That's right. Bush and Cheney were in office when this country suffered a series of devastating terrorist attacks and, after first refusing to investigate what happened on September 11, 2001, they proceeded to exploit these events in order to further their nefarious agenda: perpetual war in the Middle East, illegal wiretapping/spying on citizens, torturing "detainees" in their so-called "war on terror." And their one major accomplishment was, supposedly, that they managed to prevent another cataclysmic terrorist attack from taking place on their watch.

It is uncertain how much political will there is currently in the Obama orbit for holding the Bush-Cheney regime accountable. Yet, it is imperative that "looking forward" towards a new era of hope and change will include efforts to prosecute those who over the last eight years nearly destroyed the fabric of this republic. It will probably be ugly, and it could become very divisive if all of Bush and Cheney's high crimes and misdemeanors are exposed. Yet if we simply roll on into the Obama era with no sense of holding the last administration accountable for its wrongdoing, future presidents and their minions will surely repeat many of Bush and Cheney's most flagrant offenses.

As we celebrate Obama and look forward to pushing him in a progressive direction, let us also never forget the stolen 2000 election, Enron, 9/11, Iraq, Katrina, and the whole constellation of terror, death, and misery that the last eight years has represented. A new dawn is truly upon us as a black family prepares to take its rightful place in the White House. Yet "the change we need" will only be possible if we are prepared to keep recent history in mind during the exciting days ahead.