Posted on 07/02/2007 8:47:31 PM PDT by freespirited
Q. And how long would that have taken?
A. Much longer than the time elapsed between the sentencing and the ruling today that he could not await the answer from the appeals process before beginning to serve time.
The Washington Post knows this - and should be doing some editing before peddling such rubbish. Oh, wait... they hate Bush. Never mind.
I honestly don't know.
There is no doubt that the Fitzpervert investigation was enabled by Bush's directive and the targets were ordered to cooperate with the prosecutor. An astoundingly poor tactic and strategy, knowing the DemoRats. Rove and Libby complied, Monica Goodling (in a different perjury trap) didn't, and look at the results: Bush et all are branded criminals and the MSM won't go anywhere near Goodling, they know she's too smart for them.
Bush only threw Libby a bone. He did not pardon Libby. Libby is still stuck with a 250K fine, two years probation, and a felony conviction which destroys his career.
Bush is certainly loyal to himself but not Libby. In my opinion he screwed Libby to placate the non-existent center. As LBJ once said " the only things in the middle of the road are yellow lines and dead armidillos."
I respectfully submit you had it right in your first paragraph.
Bush hasn't done well with the bully pulpit, and any machinations--"controlling Fitz"--would have been clear as day.
This way, he gives Libby the opportunity to be FOUND not guilty. Then, there's simply nothing to say about it--done and done.
And if he's not successful on appeal, who knows? But I think Bush made the correct decision here, as he's so unpopular that anything done from the bully pulpit in Libby's defense would be seen as a cover-up of SOME kind by those who aren't paying close attention to the details of the case.
Is there danger in continuing the appeal? If the conviction is overturned on appeal, could Fitzfong elect to retry Libby? For that matter, how much longer is the Special Prosecutor going to stay in business?
An unfortunate but accurate summary of his administration.
I agree, but let's take this in two parts.
Bush being ineffective at the bully pulpit is ENTIRELY Bush's fault.
Further, it is the reason that "machinations" could be cast as such, rather than the reigning in of a Stalinist conspiratorial political prosecutor.
I propose that if part one was not true, part two would not be possible.
Let's review a few of W's mistakes:
Assuming the Presidency and not cleaning the government of leftie subversives in all the agencies that would subvert his Presidency.
Jumping forward: appointing a special prosecutor before appointing loyalists within the CIA to investigate Wilson and Plame the moment Wilson went public because he hadn't been required to sign a nondisclosure agreement with CIA (contrary to CIA SOP). The results of which would have exposed Wilson and Plame as liars and conspirators with middle east financial interests who knowingly delivered false intelligence to CIA. Declassify the report and take it public in the bully pulpit.
Now, about that special prosecutor.....
“If the conviction is overturned on appeal, could Fitzfong elect to retry Libby?”
Nope.
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