George W. Bush has learned a valuable if dangerous lesson, namely, that you can't fall off the floor. His approval ratings are so low that little harm would be done if he admitted ownership of the dog-fighting enterprise running out of Micheal Vick's Virginia home. Nothing short of a camping trip with OJ Simpson could reduce the President's popularity with the American people. Mr. Bush could develop a cure for cancer and be reviled for contributing to overpopulation.
With that fact in mind, Lonesome George felt perfectly comfortable commuting the prison sentence of Scooter Libby. I suppose that it could have been worse. He might have released Sirhan Sirhan or Charlie Manson. He could have pardoned John Allen Muhammad, the Washington sniper. He might have told Barry Bonds to forget about any potential perjury and drug charges and just play ball.
At the end of the day, Lewis Scooter Libby is a little fish. It seems only right that we throw him back. We wanted Rove. We wanted Cheney. (Oh, how we wanted Cheney!)We wanted one of those arrogant bastards that have been running America as though it were their own private grocery store. The level of disdain that this administration has shown for the rule of law is so egregious that even Nebraska is sick of it.
We now have a Vice President that actually believes that he can decide for himself what branch of government he belongs to and what laws apply to him. Christ, all Spiro Agnew did was take a little graft in Maryland! Even if there is some smoking gun (aside from the one he shoots old lawyers with) he would still have to be dragged into a courtroom. By the time Alberto Gonzales' Justice Dept. pulled their collective heads out of their asses it would be 2009 and Big Dick would be back at Halliburton stealing billions in defense contracts. Even his lesbian daughter's child couldn't crack his duplicitous public personae.
The real loser here, as always, the American system of justice. Whether you agree with this administration (all 31 of you) or not, every short cut, every wink and nod, every-get-out-of-jail-free card makes America just that much more cynical about our laws and our courts. Bill Clinton lies about Monica and, although tarnished, gets a pass. Ronald Reagan trades arms for hostages in violation of the law and gets a building and an airport named for him. George W. Bush lies us into a war where the death toll stands at 3,500 and suffers no more than a public relation black eye. No wonder Jon Stewart has to keep reminding people that his is not a real news show.
George Bush and his retinue of scoundrels are nevertheless prisoners of a sort. They can't appear at public functions these days because of the booing and the demonstrations. Mr. Bush was afraid to attend a Washington Nationals game because of the reception he was likely to receive. Tony Snow, the press secretary, wears a flack jacket.
So forget Scooter. He wasn't worth the bait to catch him. Whether he was going to spill his guts or not we'll never know. Maybe he'll write a book.
If you want to feel bad about something, repeat this phrase, " They've still got another 19 months in office".
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