Libby Commutation

Even as the words of the news announcer were echoing in my head and in my car, I knew that the looney left was going to go absolutly bananas over President Bush commuting the sentence of Scooter Libby. Here is what Nancy Pelosi wrote:

The President’s commutation of Scooter Libby’s prison sentence does not serve justice, condones criminal conduct, and is a betrayal of trust of the American people.

The President said he would hold accountable anyone involved in the Valerie Plame leak case. By his action today, the President shows his word is not to be believed. He has abandoned all sense of fairness when it comes to justice, he has failed to uphold the rule of law, and he has failed to hold his Administration accountable.

Um, Scooter Libby is still a convicted felon! Whenever he seeks employment, he will have to answer the question of whether he is a felon in the affirmative. You can argue all you want about Libby's culpability in the matter or whether he is a fall guy for the administration, or the victim of a witch hunt by the left, he was still convicted and will remain a convicted felon.

Here is a question for the left. What is the functional difference between President Bush exercising his Constitutional authority to commute sentences or pardon people and the same authority exercised by President Clinton to pardon--PARDON--Marc Rich. The answer is at least President Bush didn't do it in a midnight move just before leaving office. President Bush has stood up, like a man, made his decision and will take the heat. President Clinton pardoned Rich in the last week in office, when very few people were watching and certainly the press was as vigilant as they are with President Bush.

Speaker Pelosi would do better to make sure her House is clean (read William Jefferson, John Murtha and others) before questioning the exercise of a Presidential perogative.