photo via Flickr courtesy of Th3 ProphetMan

I've read the legal scholars' interpretations. I've heard the charges of hypocrisy leveled at Bush, and I think most of the analysts have been wrong. The New York Times did a fascinating thing by printing, in large block quotes, on the front page of yesterday's paper, three statements made by Bush on the leak investigation. The first one said..

There's leaks at the executive branch; there's leaks in the legislative branch. There's just too many leaks. And if there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. And if the person has violated law, the person will be taken care of.

"Taken care of." There it is right in our faces. Foolish Americans, you assumed by "taken care of" that Dubya meant "held accountable" when in fact he meant "taken care of" as in "You my boy. I got you dawg." What better way to take care of his boy than to spring him from the joint? We all just witnessed a gangsta-style prison break.

As has already been well pointed out on this blog, Scooter is lucky he isn't black. This commutation, while technically legal and within the president's powers, is grossly unjust. Here's the quote that really got me:

The president's decision means that Mr. Libby, 56, no longer faces the prospect of leaving his wife and two children, in what probably would have been a matter of weeks, to report to prison.

If we were in France, there would be a riot right now. Where is the riot here? Is black radio talking about this slap in the face? Given the ease with which America locks up poor folks and people of color, pardon me if I could give a damn about Libby's wife and kids. For all the suffering this man promoted in his policy role and for his involvement in a case approaching treason, he gets out of jail free. Back in the day, weren't people executed for this sort of activity?

By this point, only a fool would be surprised by Bush's decision. At the same token, only a fool would tolerate it.

(cross-posted at Jack & Jill Politics)

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