One of the things that is going on right now is that the Bush administration, recognizing that they will be leaving power shortly, are trying to protect themselves from future prosecution and litigation. Jeffrey Toobin in the New Yorker^* notes that the Bush administration is desperately trying to make their system of kangaroo courts and torture appear legal, or, failing that, at least make it appear routine:

In any case, according to lawyers inside and outside government, the Bush Administration may launch a proposal for a national-security court this summer or fall, after what they presume will be its next loss in the Supreme Court. “It looks like when Boumediene comes down the Court may say to the President and Congress that they need more procedures for the detainees,” Goldsmith said. “So, to correct the problem, the President might consider sending something up to Congress this summer or fall. It would help the Republicans in the fall election.” The measure would force congressional Democrats to take a stand on the issue in the middle of the campaign—just as Bush did successfully with the Military Commissions Act after the Hamdan defeat. “It worked very well in 2006,” Goldsmith said. “The only way the Democrats have to not make it an election issue is to give the President the powers he seeks.”

Seeing as how the only driving ideology of the Bush administration has been the abuse of government power for political advantage, this surprises me not one whit.

H/t Mithras

^*So there are other reasons to read them besides just the cartoons…though their cartoons are da bomb.