Obama Gives Bush "Absolute Immunity" For Everything

[geek tragedy]

44. You think this is the first time a former president has been sued like this?

This kind of statement is boilerplate and utterly unremarkable--Bush was acting as President and Commander in Chief of the US armed forces when he launched the invasion of Iraq. That's not even close to being disputed. Democratic presidents issue such statements when Republican former presidents get sued, and vice versa.

As far as the not being willing to prosecute--for 200 years we have had an orderly and peaceful transition from one elected administration with the implicit assumption that presidents don't throw their predecessors in jail. Remove that, and all of a sudden you make it a lot more likely that Presidents and parties will be not willing to leave office, if they suspect their successor will have them thrown in prison, whether the charges are legit or not.