The Not-a-Pardon

From Joe Sudbay at AmericaBlog, some good comments on Bush's commutation of Libby's sentence. John Aravosis has some reactions. Andrew Sullivan notes the right-wing talking points, as well as noting Fred Thompson's reaction. (I mean, is that lame, or what? This man wants to be president? Maybe? Kinda sorta?)

And, via TPM Election Central, the public reaction.

Digby points out a wrinkle in the whole thing:

I'm not a lawyer, but I have to assume that this means he can still appeal --- which means he can still take the fifth if the congress calls him to to testify. Very convenient.

Digby also points out what people who don't work for the vice president can expect from this administration:

The Bush administration is trying to roll back a Supreme Court decision by pushing legislation that would require prison time for nearly all criminals.

(I was actually looking for some right side of the aisle reactions, but I don't seem to have the links. Sullivan will have to do it, I guess. GayPatriot is still in knots over the possibility of hordes of Spanish-speaking brown people actually getting to stay here, and Matt at the Malcontent thinks it's all Bill Clinton's fault.)

I don't know that I even have an opinion on this -- I mean, what did anyone expect? This is Bush's own little old boys' club, after all. One possibility I did see advanced is a pardon as one of Bush's outgoing little smirks. I'm sure Libby can find enough donors (Fred Thompson, by the way, is on the board of his defense fund) to keep the appeals going long enough, and after all, Clinton did exactly the same thing!!!. (I think the fact that anyone can equate pardoning a crooked financier with pardoning a man who has quite possibly committed treason goes a long way toward explaining why some people voted for Bush twice.)