Darkness Visible

Conor writes that prosecuting Cheney would "be a dark day for the United States." Larison disagrees:

In the event that the officials responsible for these decisions were arrested or found guilty of crimes, that would not be a dark day, but rather the day when the sun has finally started to peak through the clouds of arbitrary and illegal government actions. If high officials have broken the law, the day when they are brought to justice should be considered a very good day indeed. Is it regrettable that these officials created this situation? Of course. What we should never regret or lament is the successul revival of the rule of law that holding such officials accountable would represent. However, it remains to be seen whether such a revival will even be attempted.