President Elect Barack Obama made an announcement Friday that shocked the White House press corp.
"One of my first acts as President will be to pardon George W. Bush and Dick Cheney for treason, war profiteering, war crimes or any other crimes they're possibly indictable for over the past eight years."
President Elect Obama said he was doing this "to help the country heal and move forward."
"Um, thanks, I guess," said President Bush when asked to respond.
Vice President Cheney could not be reached for comment, as he has been residing on his own personal "Death Star" in orbit for the last 17 months, the White House admitted later that afternoon.
The move took the nation by surprise as much as the last time it occurred, when Gerald Ford pardoned a disgraced former President Nixon.
"We're missing a tremendous opportunity here," said Al Franken, who's still vying for a Minnesota senatorship.
Franken called for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney, even at the last possible lame-duck moment, in his book, The Truth with Jokes.
Conservatives have had mixed reactions, sometimes within the same breathe.
"Thank God!" DNN's Chip Foxx exclaimed upon hearing the announcement while live on the air. "I mean- they don't need that! How offensive!"
Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who had been introducing bills for the President and Vice-President to be impeached for years, was unavailable for comment.
"His head is still exploding." an aid said.
Political analysts say the move could convict Bush and Cheney in the court of public opinion.
Infact, several investigations have spawned in the Justice Department and various congressional committees since the announcement.
"Obama's announcement makes it look like they've found something incriminating," said MSNBC's Pat Buchanan. "If he backs out of the pardon now, Bush and Cheney could end up getting impeached at the last minute."
"I wouldn't do that," said Obama later that night with a calculating smile. "Would I?"

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President George W. Bush
President Elect Barack Obama