What'd Ya Expect?

If you ever thought George gave a shit about the rule of law, this ought to answer that once and for all. All the Dems are outraged, but big deal. Until Congress gets the brass to impeach, nothing substantive will come of it. Until 2008, that is. AP (07.03.07):

"Just when things looked darkest for I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, when prison seemed all but certain, President Bush wiped away the former White House aide's 2 1/2-year sentence in the CIA leak case.

Bush's move came Monday, just five hours after a federal appeals panel ruled that Libby could not delay his prison term. His prospects for an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court seemed bleak. The former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, Libby was just waiting for a date to surrender.

Bush Wipes Away Libby's Prison Sentence

"After months of sidestepping pardon questions, Bush stepped in. He did not issue a pardon but erased a prison sentence that he felt was just too harsh."

"'I respect the jury's verdict,' Bush said in a written statement. 'But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby's sentence that required him to spend 30 months in prison.'"

"Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald disputed the president's assertion that the prison term was excessive. Libby was sentenced under the same laws as other criminals, Fitzgerald said. 'It is fundamental to the rule of law that all citizens stand before the bar of justice as equals.'"

Some, however, are more equal than others.

On the other hand, from Craig Crawford on Hardball, via MyDD: "'On the political front, this is going to be a huge battering ram for Democrats in 2008. I think this will be the Jack Abramoff lobbyist scandal of the 2008 campaign as Democrats rally their own activists and grassroots supporters.'"

As in George's commutation may have guaranteed a Democrat landslide in 2008.