Your post seems to indicate a pardon for Libby tomorrow (versus December 2008) would be a bad thing.
It would be a "bad thing" [I said a negative] politically for the WH to pardon Libby now. It would be a "good thing" for Libby personally because it would save him the enormous legal costs of filing an appeal.
Politically for the Republican Party and how the media would handle it I think it would be if you have any hope of getting a Republican in the White House in November 2008.