July 3: It's all who you know

Well, everything I read in the news lately about that evil president of our otherwise fine country just confirms my suspicions that he sits in his big chair and plays GameBoy all day. Yesterday it was announced that GWB commuted the jail sentence of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, whining that it was "too harsh." Sounds eerily similar to what Paris Hilton was boo-hooing about a few weeks ago.

Here were some of my favorite quotes on this story:

...even with Bush's decision, Libby has a felony conviction on his record, two years probation, a $250,000 fine and probable loss of his legal career.

Yeah, I'm sure the guy's so poor he's headed right over to the soup kitchen. Geez. You know he won't have trouble getting a job. Even if he did, there's always the inevitable book deal. But what happened to the "you do the crime, you do the time"??? This has nothing to do with the crime committed, and never did.

With prison seeming all but certain for Libby, Bush on Monday suddenly spared Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff. His move came just five hours after a federal appeals court panel ruled that Libby could not delay his prison term. The Bureau of Prisons had already assigned Libby a prison identification number.

Whew. There was a stressful five hours. Betcha Scooter was awful worried.

Democrats have charged cronyism in Bush's sparing Libby jail time. But Snow said, "The president does not look upon this as granting a favor to anyone, and to do that is to misconstrue the nature of the deliberations. He spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to maintain the faith in the jury system, and he did that by keeping intact the conviction and some of the punishments," Snow said.

How did Tony Snow not burst out laughing when he answered that??? Because I think I snorted pizza right out my nose when I read it.

...the president made the decision without seeking any advice from the Office of the Pardon Attorney at the Justice Department, the White House had previously said.

He didn't seek advice on the decision? I'm shocked!

[Tony] Snow defended Bush's decision to not follow the usual course of running the matter past the Justice Department, saying details of the case were still fresh in everybody's mind, and that the president did not need to be brought up to date on details.

Details, shmetails. God forbid you interrupt him with anything important. Besides, I'm sure he was totally paying attention throughout the entire process and a briefing was totally not necessary.

Pressed on whether someone in the administration owed the American public an apology, Snow said, "I'll apologize. Done."

This is what I appreciate so much about our current administration. Their sincerity. They're all so NOT dismissive when it comes to public opinion.

And, finally, I'll close with this understatement from Nancy Pelosi. "Bush's decision showed the president 'condones criminal conduct.'"

My heart rate is still up, but I feel a little better having spewed some of this. Anything you'd like to add, Lori?

--Jen