Patrick Leahy

With fears of a potential swine flu epidemic sweeping the world, and with the report cards coming in on Obama’s first 100 days, you would think the debate on the torture memos from the Bush–Cheney era would be off the table. It is possible that White House officials believed Obama’s preference that we learn from them and move on would be enough to circumscribe the issue and carry the day. But they were living in fantasyland if they believed that this dramatic news item would be a one week wonder. In fact, it was the president’s about face on prosecution that kept the news story going and will probably make it a dominant issue throughout the next 100 days.