As someone who has voiced frequent criticism at the current mainstream media it was gratifying to read today's (July 3) New York Times editorial on George W. Bush's commutation of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's 30-month sentence and praise it as trenchant and a model of precise logic and reason.

The Times begins by zeroing in on Bush's lofty declarations during his first presidential campaign in 2000, when he sought to establish a clear-cut distinction between his self-pronounced law-abiding morality with that of President Bill Clinton.  Candidate Bush asserted, "(P)olitics, after a time of tarnished ideals, can be higher and better."

An excellent point raised was the distinction Bush clearly draws between crime when committed by "common folk" as opposed to political cronies.  While Texas' governor Bush reportedly devoted 15 minutes to evaluating capital punishment cases.  

It was none other than conservative talk show host and columnist Tucker Carlson who reported the incident when Bush joked about the impending execution of Karla Faye Tucker, a killer who became a born-again Christian on death row, and whose sentence commutation to life without possibility of parole was supported by Pat Robertson along with many others on both sides of the political divide.  

"I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious of traitors."

-- President Bush's father, George Herbert Walker Bush, 1999

The most insidious of traitors!!

I wonder what H. W. Bush thinks of his son after these latest revelations.

At first, it seemed that George Junior was toeing his family's line on the Plame-leak issue -- assuming a staunchly intolerant stance, publicly proclaiming that he would fire anyone involved in the leaking of intelligence related to the outing of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame.

But, after some consideration, and perhaps a bit of Rovial prodding, Bush jacked up the firing threshold from 'involved' to 'committed a crime' -- offering a significant buffer for those involved in the leak. President Bush on July 15, 2005, "If somebody committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration."

At that point it was clear that Bush knew something that we did not. Little did anyone fathom that Bush's original statement would have likely required him to fire... himself.

Here we go...... It's Watergate all over again with the Executive Privilege.  

Just for fun, let's assume for a moment that Cheney is called as a witness in Libby's court case. It would certainly make sense but what would it all mean? Mind you this isn't worth a hoot if a real news source doesn't confirm it, but here goes anyway.

In 1974, Nixon disputed everything John Dean said until Alexander Butterfield testified that all conversations in the Oval Office were taped.  Archibald Cox subpoenaed the tapes, but Nixon refused to turn them over, citing "executive privilege."  When Cox refused to drop the subppoena, Nixon asked then Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Cox.  He refused, and resigned.  Then Deputy AG William Ruckelshaus also refused and resigned.  Bork was Solicitor General at the time, and he fired Cox.  (Which, of course, led to the "borking" of Bork as Supreme Court nominee in 1987.)

Leon Jaworski was then appointed special prosecutor, but he pursued the tapes all the way to the Supreme Court.

According to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll, the Bush Administration has hit several new lows, and some really bad highs...

The five count indictment issued by the Grand Jury today is an important step in the criminal justice process that began more than two years ago.  I commend Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald for his professionalism, for his diligence, and for his courage.

There will be many opportunities in the future to comment on the events that led to today's indictment.  And, it appears that there will be further developments before the grand jury.  Whatever the final outcome of the investigation and the prosecution, I continue to believe that revealing my wife Valerie's secret CIA identity was very wrong and harmful to our nation, and I feel that my family was attacked for my speaking the truth about the events that led our country to war.  I look forward to exercising my rights as a citizen to speak about these matters in the future.

As Harry Truman once said, "The only thing new is the history we haven't yet read."  This aphorism is particularly apt in the wake of the Scooter Libby grand jury indictment and ongoing investigation into the Valerie Plame leak.

Turn back the clock to 1973 and observe the strategy at the Nixon White House during the ongoing Watergate investigations.  Nixon strategists such as H.R. Haldeman and Charles Colson sought out John Dean, the 31-year-old White House counsel, as a convenient sacrificial lamb.  The strategy was to blame the whole sordid Watergate mess on Dean and get back to business.  Dean refused to play the role of patsy and the rest is history as the Nixon Administration went down in flames and the first presidential resignation in American history occurred the following year.