...or did the Bush administration strike a blow for air quality just by leaving town?

Really! The air quality in Washington is noticeably improved. The sulfurous odor emanating from the area around the Navel Observatory (home to the Vice President) has cleared, if only to be replaced by a hint of methane. True, the stench at the Justice Department is considerably more pervasive (waterboarding has its downside, you know) but, once the smell of incense and beeswax clears, things will improve. Sadly, the toxic stew that brews continually in the Congress will forever render the air quality over the Capitol unbreathable. If only the new administration could discover a way to flush "the turd formerly known as Karl Rove", the cherry blossoms might bloom again. It may be January but spring is bustin' out all over.

However, for those of you waiting for the Hammer of Thor to descend on the recently departed and much reviled G. Bush, don't hold your breath. It would appear that the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. has more pressing matters to occupy his time. While "U.S. v Cheney, Rove, Gonzales, et al" has a lovely ring to it, the Obama White House (and, by extension, the Obama Justice Department) is having none of it.

One suspects that pragmatism is the primary motivation for wanting to bulldoze the outhouse that was Bush 43. While it's true that Americans would pay real money to watch Paul Wolfowitz explaining to a jury how he doctored the information (one could hardly call it intelligence) that prompted the invasion of Iraq, the new President knows better. The Republican party, although decimated by the elections of 2006 and 2008, could still muster a modicum of righteous indignation if the U.S. Marshalls start frog-marching former Bush officials into federal courts. At a time when President Obama needs Republican support (if only to create the appearance of inclusion), no one needs the distraction of a public tar and feathering (for as delicious as that sounds).

While politics is the motivation for everything in Washington, it's hard not to believe that Barak Obama has no heart for vendetta. After eight years of the most small-minded, mean-spirited, Nixonesque leadership since...well...Nixon, grasping the notion that our President might do the right thing because it's the right thing to do, is daunting. Having been fed a steady diet of lies, cynicism and, edited information, we are reluctant to believe that better angels might be at work. Amid the liberal rants for "justice" and "accountability" (liberals can really be a bunch of self-righteous pains in the ass) the new administration is spending its precious political capital to push forward. MSNBC notwithstanding, the President seems prepared to pardon the Bush cabal through inaction. Oh well! Maybe we'll get a second bite of the apple. If there's a God, Karl Rove will be arrested in Vegas with a gun trying to steal back some Bush memorabilia. It could happen!