Bush Seals His Legacy
Well, the word on George W. Bush is that he is doggedly loyal -- a virtue, sometimes, but sometimes, also, a fault. It was a fault when Bush put unqualified friends in positions of power (Michael Brown, Harriet Miers), or hung on too long to under-performing subordinates (George Tenet, Don Rumsfeld). And now Bush's loyalty has caused him to hammer the final nail into his legacy.
I refer to the president's decision to commute Scooter Libby's sentence.
Now, as I have said before, I think the whole Valerie Plame investigation was bogus. All evidence suggests that Plame was not a covert agent at the time of her "outing." And her "outing" didn't come at the hands of some White House operative, but a State Department old hand whom no one accuses of being part of the "neocon conspiracy." But an over-zealous prosecutor got his hands on this case, and he wasn't going to let go until he claimed at least one scalp.
And that scalp came from Scooter Libby.
For the record, I am not one who thinks the lack of an underlying crime in any way excuses Libby's perjury. Perjury is perjury, whether it happens in a bogus investigation or a worthy one, or even if it's "only about sex." A jury found Libby guilty of a serious crime, and that's reason enough for him to endure any punishment the legal system metes out.
That said, I agree with Bush that the penalty given to Libby -- 30 months in prison -- was excessive. Especially since the last high-profile White House official to engage in perjury only had to give up his law license.
Still, even if Bush is right on the matter of the sentence, he is wrong to commute it. The conflict of interest is too great. Yes, the Constitution permits this, but common sense does not. The Libby case is a matter from which Bush should have recused himself, even if that meant a loyal aide would go to prison. Justice ought to matter more than loyalty -- and justice cannot be served when it's dispensed by one's own friends.
For years, critics have charged this administration with thinking itself above the law and shirking accountability. Today Bush has proved those critics right.
I think President Bush should immediately "pardon" Hillary Clinton for her hilarious quote of, "This commutation sends the clear signal that in this administration, cronyism and ideology trump competence and justice." - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.
Why "pardon" Hillary Mr. Weinkopf? According to the US Department of Justice's web site, former President Bill Clinton issued 395 pardons and 61 commutations. His pardons included his brother, Roger Clinton's cocaine conviction, Dan Rostankowski, former (Democratic) Chairman of the House Ways and Means mail fraud conviction, former (Democratic) San Antonio Mayor and Clinton's Secretary of Housing & Urban, Henry Cisnaro's conviction for issuing a false statement and pardoning former (Republican) Arizona Governor John Symington for wire fraud and attempted extortion. And last (at the 11th hour of his presidency) but not least, Marc Rich's pardon for income tax invasion, mail & wire fraud and trading with Iran in violation of trade embargo, after Mr. Rich's ex wife's generous campaign contribution to Mr. Clinton's second bid for the presidency.
Fascinatingly, Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen ended his 7-19 column on Scooter Libby prophetically by saying, "I have come to hate the war and I cannot approve of lying under oath -- not by Scooter, not by Bill Clinton, not by anybody. But the underlying crime is absent, the sentence is excessive and the investigation should not have been conducted in the first place. This is a mess. Should Libby be pardoned? Maybe. Should his sentence be commuted? Definitely."
Perhaps if Mrs. Clinton doesn't get elected president in 2008, she can get a job on Jon Stewart's Daily Show as a comedy writer.
Stephen Wagner
Valencia CA 91355
Mr. Wagner, how is "Clinton did it" any excuse? Wasn't the very promise of the Bush presidency to rise above Clinton's perilously low ethical standards?