Our president is a genius at strategy as well as politics.
It may be that this isn't just the right moment to advocate a special prosecutor to hold anyone accountable for torture by the US government. The perfect moment may be coming - imminently, soon - or never.
When is the right moment for the Obama administration to vow that someone will be held accountable for what he has already acknowledged is torture?
Below are a list of conditions that might make it strategically or politically better - or worse - for Obama to vow that the architects of torture will be held accountable.
When should it happen? (Don't worry - there are multiple "Never" options too.)
Careful - most are conditions that have no built-in timetable - they could happen tomorrow, or never - but probably not on any schedule President Obama can control.
(I was tempted to include "not until Al Franken is a Senator" as an option, but I was afraid it would corrupt the poll. This is about leadership, not partisanship. If you honestly believe Al Franken's presence will reverse Obama's "we must look forward, not back" policy on torture, feel free to write it in a comment.)