Complete crap and rationalization of your own moral weaknesses...elected officials and public servants should be held to a higher standard...not a lower standard and/or cronyism. Getting to be president shouldn't be a reward where you get to say "olly olly ocks in free" to your friends why they lie to protect you...it is a job that is supposed to put public interest and constitutional responsibility above politics and personal interests... The acid test of course is if/when another dem gets in the White House and they do the same thing...then we will hear the cries of impeachment loud and long from the klannish regressives...
Libby got caught up in a bullshit prosecution by politically motivated Democrat hacks, did he not? It is the obligatory accusation and demonization of the White House by Democrats so they can appear to be the activists their supporters want them to be, no? Wasn't it part of the Valerie Plame thing or am I mixed up.... she was the CIA agent that was outed after years of driving her car up to the CIA building, parking it and going inside the building and staying for the normal work day, then driving home at night.... talk about trumped up bullshit, I guess they have been trumping up bullshit for so long they know what they can get away with. He was a victim of that stuff, I'm perfectly happy to see him pardoned. I'm perfectly happy to see the president pardon him, it's within his constitutional authority.
So a trial in which a jury viewed the evidence, came to a conclusions of guilty, and the sentence was according to guidelines...but Bush commutes his sentence... Sooooo, then Bush should have every single sentence commuted for anyone serving time for the same crime... I'm guessing we don't see anyone else serving time for the same crime have their sentence commuted by Bush...unless they are other klannish of course...
If what I see is a pack of wolves out for blood underneath the self-righteous rhetoric then that's what I'll call it. You want proof? You yourself are so blinded by your thirst for a public hanging that you fail to realize that I could care less how the Republicans will suffer embarassment from this escapade. In truth they probably do deserve a more severe comeuppance for the circus of an impeachment case they brought against Clinton. Moreso when an impeachment case against W makes more sense. Nevertheless the vigor to which you are pursuing punishment against Libby shows that the glee found in sharpening knives in the expectation of exacting a pound of flesh is not restricted to any particular side. As for what I hear the jury thought: http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/2007/03/libby_juror_scooter_guilty_but_the_fall_guy/
On a visceral level, I agree with what you're saying. I feel the same way about Libby. However I think this sort of reasoning can result in some disturbing inequities in our legal system. Upper class, white collar crimes get lower sentences. Crimes of the underclass get the book thrown out them. A great example is mandatory minimums for possession of crack cocaine are generally higher than for powder cocaine. If all our lawmakers came from poor urban backgrounds, chances are political and financial crimes would be dealt with a lot more harshly and drugs would be legalized. Empathy is not a good basis for a legal system. I'm sure a lot of drug dealers, if you could walk a mile in their shoes, if you really got inside their heads, would deserve just as much empathy as Scooter Libby. If we start enforcing laws based on empathy, or a sense of "There but for the grace of God go I," we abandon the last vestige of fairness in the justice system.
If he 'has gotten into' the situation like this because of the machinations of his boss Cheney he should just say so. In fact I think he was planning to unless the Whitehouse got him off the hook, somehow. It is just an incredible mess, caused mainly by this totally corrupt guy Cheney, who will go into history as the man that caused the most damage to the US, both economically and politically. No terrorists needed for that. Btw. your argument goes for at least half of the defendants on the Nueremberg trials too. They were almost all hanged. 'Having gotten into' is no excuse for governemnt employees on this level. They are fully responsible and he knew what he was doing. Besided, he lied about it, which is end of story. Ursa..
while I am not sure libby was guilty of the charges - I in no way feel sorry for him. I would bet large dollars behind the scenes a dynamic cost benefit analysis is being done. for instance -- I could get three years or I could turn in everybody I can. Oh Dick - what are you going to do to protect me, I don't want promises I want action. I don't give shit if Bush says he cant handle the heat, he has sold out for you before - If I so much as spend one hour in jail I am not sure I will be able to control my fear. I fear I may wind up signing this piece of paper and rolling over. Now this is not a threat - it is just something I fear. By the way did you know I have a "tell all" book deal on the table. do you know what I will be doing for a living after they pull my law license? Again this is not threat - I just thought you would like to know my fears.
they're claiming that bush is tossing a bone to the base, after stabbing them in the back on amnesty but pardoning libby ahead of ramos and compion only makes his betrayal more naked