Pardon Me?

This is a 56 year-old man who would prefer you call him "Scooter" (as in Libby) and not Irv (his first name) or Lewis (his middle name). That should tell you everything you need to know about his judgement and self-image. If it doesn't, remember that he was, up until the time of his indictment on five felony counts of obstruction of justice, lying, and perjury, Dick Cheney's right hand man.

"Scooter" is the only man alive who stands convicted of obstruction of justice, perjury, and making false statements (lying) who will not see the inside of a prison. He will pay a fine of $250,000... maybe. He will also lose his license to practice law... maybe. They say his career is over and he'll be a professional pariah. You'd believe them when they say that if he wasn't the beneficiary of Right Wing Cheerleading that resulted in his 30-month prison sentence being commuted by The Only President We Got.

We're hard-pressed to believe that this man's career is over since he has such low friends in good places. It bears repeating that the charge against President Clinton during his impeachment fiasco was obstruction of justice. The same crowd who was incensed at his having lied about sex to people who had no right to ask about it are now elated that a man who facilitated the outing of a CIA agent is free as a bird. He may not be done unwrapping gifts from the Bush Administration. He could still be pardoned - alleviating the need for him to write that check or lose his license to practice law. Anyone who doubts this is in the plan hasn't been paying attention for the last 6 1/2 years.

While Bush and Cheney stonewall Congress and its absolute right to subpoena documents relating to the U.S. Attorney firings, among other travesties, we should be bracing ourselves for a long and exciting road. You can set "Scooter" free, but you can't hide from the Constitution. Eventually, hubris gives way to reason and the rule of law. Those who run afoul of the Constitution and other laws eventually get their due - whether they serve their time or not. It's not too late in the term to think about impeachment of one or both of these scofflaws. The subpoenas are nothing more than the foundation laid for such a process.

No one in Congress believes they will ever see a single page of redacted emails in compliance with any of the subpoenas issued. Democrats simply needed Bush et al. to act in contempt of Congress by ignoring them. That, in itself, is a crime. Impeachment is specifically reserved for High Crimes and Misdemeanors. Now we have a crime. Bring on the articles of impeachment.

It may seem a cryin' shame, if not a crime, to commute the sentence of a weasel like Libby. It's no crime. What he did most certainly is a crime. But one of the perks of the presidency is the unfettered right to commute sentences and pardon completely. If this works out the way it should, the Libby matter should be an afterthought to a bloodbath. We'll be there with bells on.

Bring on the popcorn.