In 2008, when Barack Obama was elected president, there were a lot of things wrong with our country. The Bush/Cheney administration had engaged in extremely blatant abuse of power. They had started a war that cost hundreds of thousands of lives under false pretenses. They had botched the pursuit of Bin Laden, perhaps intentionally in an attempt to extend the “Global War on Terror”. And their domestic policies had exacerbated a real-estate and credit cycle to the point where we ended up in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

You could say it was a target rich environment for investigators and prosecutors. Yet, when asked about prosecutions in early 2009, here’s what Obama said.

OBAMA: We're still evaluating how we're going to approach the whole issue of interrogations, detentions, and so forth. And obviously we're going to look at past practices. And I don't believe that anybody is above the law. On the other hand, I also have a belief that we need to look forward as opposed to looking backwards. And part of my job is to make sure that for example at the CIA, you've got extraordinarily talented people who are working very hard to keep Americans safe. I don't want them to suddenly feel like they've got to spend all their time looking over their shoulders and lawyering up. STEPHANOPOULOS: So no 9/11 Commission with independent seeking of power? OBAMA: Well we have not made any final decisions but my instinct is for us to focus on how do we make sure that moving forward, we are doing the right thing. That doesn't mean that if somebody has blatantly broken the law, that they are above the law. But my orientation's going to be to move forward. STEPHANOPOULOS: So let me just press that one more time. You're not ruling out prosecution, but will you tell your Justice Department to investigate these cases and follow the evidence where it leads? OBAMA: What I -- I think my general view when it comes to my attorney general is that he's the people's lawyer. Eric Holder's been nominated. His job is to uphold the Constitution and look after the interests of the American people. Not be swayed by my day-to-day politics. So ultimately, he's going to be making some calls. But my general belief is that when it comes to national security, what we have to focus on is getting things right in the future as opposed to looking at what we got wrong in the past. — www.salon.com/...

As always, with Obama, it was a thoughtful and intelligent response.

It was also deeply mistaken.

Republicans showed no such understanding or thought in response. They saw it as a sign of weakness and license.

Mitch McConnell and his colleagues decided they would oppose everything Obama presented. His compatriots in the tea-party set the stage for Donald Trump and an open alliance with white supremacists and American Nazis.

Cheney sold US environmental policy and US foreign policy to the conventional energy industry.

He was never prosecuted for his blatant criminality. Which is how we ended up with an entire cabinet full of kleptocrats who are convinced they can loot the public treasury and sell US policy to the highest bidder. They are led by Trump.

Bush and Cheney got away with illegal wars that killed hundreds of thousands of Asian and African people. They tortured people under false pretenses and ran an organized kidnapping ring across the world.

The people who enabled and ordered these crimes were never brought to justice. Which is why now have a cabinet full of people who delight at the sight of children in cages, who have sought to wreak havoc on the bodies of children.

The 1% in this country got away with the destruction of entire communities, destroying the life savings and jobs of tens of millions of Americans.

No one went to jail.

Today, a woman revealed that Trump raped her. This is the 16th woman to accuse Trump of sexual assault in one form or another. He got away with it because he was not prosecuted, and used his power and wealth to protect himself, as so many other wealthy and powerful men did.

The same Trump led a lynch mob clamoring to execute five black children who were wrongly accused of rape and wrongfully imprisoned for decades. The injustice is almost too much to bear.

I hope we have all learned our lesson.

Every time you let those who abuse power get away with it, they are emboldened. They return, with associates in tow who are even more abusive.

The current crop of criminals in this administration have caused immense suffering to refugees and immigrants. They have corrupted every office they have touched, damaging everything from education to commercial aviation. They elevated a man who helped cover up treason during the Reagan/Bush administration to the office of Attorney General. They have, once again, placed a man who committed perjury at his confirmation hearings on the Supreme Court.

The rot starts at the top, with the president and his most senior advisers who engage in rampant corruption and illegal acts every day.

If we do not want this to happen again, we have to make sure justice is swift, jail sentences are long, and all those culpable are prosecuted.

It will not be easy, it will be hard. Many powerful people see these criminals as friends, patrons or fellow members of the same country clubs. This includes powerful Democrats who have often let years of collegiality in board-rooms or a high-powered law firm affect their judgement. They will plead with their friends in Congress.

They will say that prosecuting cabinet officials erodes our norms. They will argue that prosecuting a president is like Caesar crossing the Rubicon, a death knell to democratic rule.

We must tell them that justice will be done, even if the heavens fall.

If we want to stop this abuse of power, we have to stand firm. We cannot afford to be nice, we cannot be understanding or forgiving. These are powerful people who have used their power and privilege to enrich themselves and their friends on the backs of the powerless and poor. They have indulged the worst impulses of the fascist right.

This vicious cycle will end only if they lose their power and face ruin.

They have shown us that they have no respect for laws or norms, they must be made to fear justice.

— @subirgrewal