Scooter Motors Out Of Hard Time

Well, now he's gone and done it. President Bush commuted Lewis "Scooter" Libby's prison time, while leaving the rest of his sentence for perjury and obstruction of justice intact. I've been amused by the the howls of outrage in reaction to this. The hypocrisy among the chattering classes in DC and the media capitals runs really deep. I do not support this action: I take lying very seriously, and under nearly all circumstances in government, it's just wrong. But this hysteria is silly. I like how Pat Buchanan explains what this is all about:

Whatever the motives of President Bush, this was a radical not a conservative act. Whoever pressured Bush to wipe out Scooter’s sentence was more a friend of Scooter than a friend of Bush. For the president has damaged his reputation as a just ruler, so Scooter could elude what other men have to face.

Will the student deferments for these fellows never end?

The act reeks of cronyism. The perception is that Scooter Libby got preferential treatment, a get-out-of-jail-free card because he was chief of staff to Cheney and assistant to Bush.

That perception is correct.

Because of whom he knew, Scooter got preferential treatment, big-time. The Godfather took care of the consigliere.

Nothing new. After all, one recalls that the attorney who rustled up a pardon for Marc Rich from Bill Clinton was also a Beltway hustler by the name of Scooter Libby. The insiders take care of their own.

And that is how the game is played in the big city.

There it is, from a man who's been through this before.