That sound you are hearing on the coasts is the anguished cry of a blood-crazed mob denied its pound of flesh:
Both critics and defenders of this investigation have made important points. I have made my own evaluation. In preparing for the decision I am announcing today, I have carefully weighed these arguments and the circumstances surrounding this case.
Mr. Libby was sentenced to thirty months of prison, two years of probation, and a $250,000 fine. In making the sentencing decision, the district court rejected the advice of the probation office, which recommended a lesser sentence and the consideration of factors that could have led to a sentence of home confinement or probation.
I respect the jury’s verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby’s sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison.
Solomonic?
I dunno – it might cost him another 1% approval rating. When you’re down at 27% or so, every point counts. On the other hand, sometimes you’ve just got to say…
Sandy Berger’s trousers could not be reached for comment.
Well Good for Scooter,
twas a travesty of justice, I tell Ya.
RE: “Sandy Berger’s trousers could not be reached for comment.” LMAO!
Libby screwed up by not telling the truth. What’s-her-face WAS NOT a covert operative so it was a bull$#!% partisanship-driven charge to say it was a violation of the law when her name was dropped to the media.
The folks on the left have a point. Only Republicans have a different set of standards…
How many months did President Clinton get for lying to the grand jury?…oh, wait…
Now if he would only commute the border guards…
Oh wait, we love our brethern from the south. The border guards must have been criminals. What’s that you say? The guy in question had a cool million in pot he was trying to get over the border? Never mind, it is but the voice of a choir boy speaking…
No commutation for the border guards.
Babs,
You live in AZ?
GEO6
The commutation was disappointing, but not unexpected.
Libby was accused, tried, convicted and sentenced within the framework of existing law. This kind of thing happens everywhere in the US. Yet the president disagreed. Just because the president has the power to commute sentences doesn’t mean he has to.
Perfect, there’s something here for everyone not to like.
You were correct on your speculation Lex. You suggested this “tactic” several months ago.
b2
Nobody wanted Libby to go to jail. The conviction and sentence clearly were meant to punish Bush and Cheney.
So be it.
I just read some of the reactions in the blogworld here. What the left side is saying is downright scary. Do they even hear the same words as the other side does? It’s amazing, and it’s the tip of the iceberg, since MSN wouldn’t want to scare off normal people with the ululations from the left calling for real scalps from the Whitehouse.
I’m grateful for those that go wading into the swamps of loony leftdom to report back. I don’t think I could hack more than a few minutes’ worth there.
Seems to me the President did a good thing here. He also could have given him respite, where he doesn’t have to fulfill the sentence until later — it’s been used in the past to delay a sentence or to eventually pardon someone. Seems to me the President split the difference here — no jail time, but Libby still has a criminal record, fine, and probation to fulfill, and it seems more appropriate with regard to Sandy Berger’s punishment (or lack thereof).
I get to feeling less hopeful when I see such a great divide on something like this, and how it affects us in all aspects of our lives now. It’s like we’re seeing two different situations and cross-talking over each other, neither side willing to bend an inch. Getting scary, indeed.
Hmm, seems to me I remember Clinton pardoning his own brother, the FALN terrorists (so that shrillery could pander to the Puerto Rican community in NY for her Senate seat), and multiple drug dealers. No one on the left even blinked an eye when he did that. Hypocrisy, hypocrisy I tell ya!!
Good for President Bush. This needed to be done!
Jim C