Bush Commutes Libby's Sentence

Not a huge surprise, but still total BS. Originally he promised to find & punish anyone in his administration shown to be involved with the leak. Now it's proved out that the leak came from Karl Rove and Scooter Libby, Rove is never charged b/c he didn't even try to deny it, and Libby's sentence gets commuted.

Bush & Cheney run their own little world by their own little rules.

[PrincessFiona]

Get OUT! Are you serious? I'm going to have to start paying attention again.

What is wrong with these people? And what is wrong with us that we don't stand up and say NO.

If a democrat isn't elected into office purely as a punishment to the republican party, I will lose all faith in the system (said in the heat of the moment, on the fly, recognizing i'm being a tad unreasonable).

kris

[DCJenn]

Well, objectively, since most of our conservative counterparts aren't all that thrilled with the job that the president is doing, either... (like ask Tara bout the Bush spending and she starts to have heart palpitations...)

I think he's just doing one more thing to seal his reputation as the absolute worst president, ever.

which is ok since apparently, his VP is neither part of the executive branch OR the legislative branch. (I guess that leaves judicial???)

Jenn

I'm going to have to start paying attention again

I don't know...maybe ignorance is bliss. :run:

which is ok since apparently, his VP is neither part of the executive branch OR the legislative branch. (I guess that leaves judicial???)

Jenn, you need to catch up on your Jon Stewart. He already answered this, I believe. I'll see if I can find it.

[SuzySunshine]

I guess I figured he'd do it eventually but I thought it would be one of those he did on his last day in office. I can't beleive he did it already. Is it time for him to go yet?

[GrayMatterWife]

OK, throwing in the view from the other side:

WHAHOOOO!!!! I was at home watching the news when the story broke. I started jumping up and down, cheering. DH came out of the bedroom to leave for night shift and thought I'd gone nuts. I jumped on the phone and called the US Court of Appeals judge I clerked for last year and three or four other people. Completely made DH late for work (I was driving him). I was a little disappointed it wasn't a pardon...can't really figure out why Bush went half-way on that. I mean, is commuting the sentence going to make Bush any less of a target for the liberals than flat-out pardoning him? Here's to January 19, 2009: convert the commutation into a pardon!!

Needless to say, I was PUMPED. The whole thing was such a bunch of horse-hockey. They couldn't get anyone on the actual crime (because there wasn't one!), so they propped up a BS case of lying to a fed after the fact. US Attorneys NEVER go after these charges when there is no underlying crime. The US Attorney here must just be eating bitter pie.

It's nice to see Libby get a little justice...considering former National Security Advisory Sandy "Stick the Papers in My Pants" the Thief Berger pleaded guilty and is still walking around!

Ok...I am prepared to be boo-ed here. I know that this is a pretty liberal-dominated site.

[GrayMatterWife]

Re: Bush Commutes Libby's Sentence

Not a huge surprise, but still total BS. Originally he promised to find & punish anyone in his administration shown to be involved with the leak. Now it's proved out that the leak came from Karl Rove and Scooter Libby, Rove is never charged b/c he didn't even try to deny it, and Libby's sentence gets commuted.

Bush & Cheney run their own little world by their own little rules.

Actually, the "leak" came from Richard Armitage. He's admitted it and it's been confirmed by the source. Armitage should have come forward ages ago...

But it wasn't a "leak" for purposes of the statute criminalizing the release of the information. Plame was not covert at the time of the release.

And just to refresh my memory ... what was it Starr "officially" went after Clinton for? Oh yeah - lying when questioned about whether or not he got a blow job. This was lying about outing a CIA agent -- last time I checked getting a blow job (even while married) wasn't illegal.

And Bush is willing to commute the sentence and keep his kniving master-of-evil Rove on staff all after his cowboy talk about finding the people responsible and punishing them to the fullest extent of the law?

[DCJenn]

Really? can anyone be excited about anything that man does anymore?

and you'll find that there are plenty of our more conservative brethern who are dismayed at the current state of things as well. (usually for polar opposite reasons than we lefties but any Bush Bashing is welcome as far as I'm concerned.)

I honestly don't think that 30 months was excessive but I also thought 45 days for Paris Hilton was too light. apparently I'm not a peer that anyone wants on a jury...

Jenn

[GrayMatterWife]

which is ok since apparently, his VP is neither part of the executive branch OR the legislative branch. (I guess that leaves judicial???)

Jenn

You know what the really weird thing is about this argument ("he's executive; he's legislative...he's neither, he's both, he's all rolled into one!"--goofy)?

Constitutionally, the VP has two jobs: (1) he replaces the President in case of the President's incapacity or death (which I guess is executive); and (2) he is the tie-breaking vote in the Senate (which I guess is legislative). But, that's it. Frankly, to say he is "part" of either seems extremely generous. He really has no vested responsibities--purely contingent ones. Damn, how can I get a job like that? Really, it's just a position of waiting around, in case the incredibly unlikely happens.

[PrincessFiona]

So in all seriousness, on Bush's last day, I'm going to scream WAHOOO!! Now THAT is cause for celebration.


kris

GMW, your comments got me thinking and looking. Hey, even someone at Slate agrees with you! Whoa!
http://www.slate.com/id/2169718/

I think that whole executive/legislative business is cheesy. I imagine that if the tables were turned, Cheney would have a definitive opinion on which it was.

[DCJenn]

Well, other than Richardson, no one has me jazzed. (I mean you know I love Hillary in that totally unnatural way but...I just want to make out with her)

I actually liked McCain way back in 2000.

I like Richardson a lot but he'd got a long way to go and he's not pretty and he's not done very well in the debates. Other than that, none of the other 18 or so presidential candidates have me all that excited. They all have some serious issues as far as I'm concerned.

Jenn

[GrayMatterWife]

And just to refresh my memory ... what was it Starr "officially" went after Clinton for? Oh yeah - lying when questioned about whether or not he got a blow job. This was lying about outing a CIA agent -- last time I checked getting a blow job (even while married) wasn't illegal.

And Bush is willing to commute the sentence and keep his kniving master-of-evil Rove on staff all after his cowboy talk about finding the people responsible and punishing them to the fullest extent of the law?

Actually, in some states, getting a blow job is illegal. It's considered a form of sodomy. But, of course, that's a silly and unenforceable law and not relevant to the point of the Clinton obstruction of justice/perjury investigation. For which he was stripped of his law license and expelled from practice before the Supreme Court.

Frankly, to say he is "part" of either seems extremely generous. He really has no vested responsibities--purely contingent ones. Damn, how can I get a job like that? Really, it's just a position of waiting around, in case the incredibly unlikely happens.

That may be true, but then Cheney has been overreaching big time with what he claims to be his responsibilities. And hiding behind priveledges when convienent to him. If it really were innocuous and a "fiddle dee dee, I just don't know where I fit" then I'd buy the arguement a bit more. If say ... Quayle had made the arguement. But not from the puppet master.