In commuting Scooter Libby’s prison sentence, I think President G.W. Bush has just given the Democrats the rest of the U.S. House, The Senate, and most certainly the presidency. Merry Christmas all.  Washington Post Link   MSNBC Link

Us Dems have long said that the Bushies hold themselves above the law. They’ve set up prisons that violate treaties and internment policies that violate the Constitution. They’ve used signing statements to exempt themselves from inconvenient laws and cherry picked intelligence to justify invading the wrong country. Recently, Dick Cheney claimed that he wasn’t part of the Executive branch of government so that he could avoid disclosing information that the Executive branch is required to disclose.

So far though, the other side has been able to use National Security to justify these actions to the American public – but they can’t do that with the Libby thing. I mean, here’s a guy who was accused of lying to a Grand Jury about an issue of National Security. He was tried for this crime, convicted by a jury, and sentenced according to sentencing guidelines. But this president over-ruled all of that because he was a high ranking official in the White House. Even Fox News couldn’t make this sound good.

Consider these three consecutive paragraphs lifted directly from Fox’s website:

The president noted Libby supporters' argument that the punishment did not fit the crime for a "first-time offender with years of exceptional public service."

Yet, he added, "Others point out that a jury of citizens weighed all the evidence and listened to all the testimony and found Mr. Libby guilty of perjury and obstructing justice. They argue, correctly, that our entire system of justice relies on people telling the truth. And if a person does not tell the truth, particularly if he serves in government and holds the public trust, he must be held accountable."

Bush then stripped away the prison time.

 I don’t think there is any way for Bush to get John and Jane Doe to believe that this was anything less than a political gift to his friend. I say it’s a great gift to us. Thanks George! I’ll use it every day.  

Jim Lausier