Actually, I think Rove, Cheney, & Co have decided to cede the 2008 elections. You’re about to see two years of “damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead” out of this White House. Congressional 'Pubs have proven faithless and must be punished. A good ass-whipping in 2008 and they’ll come crawling back to the neo-cons for 2010 and beyond.
So if he can’t find recourse through appeal, he will admit guilt?
The last refuge of a scoundrel.
The slow news week is icing, but the timing was likely motivated because of this decision today:
I think this is a logical strategy. Commute now and face the outrage with the response: “I didn’t pardon him, I just commuted the sentence”. Meanwhile, Libby is out of jail and can work on his appeal. If the appeal isn’t going well, Bush can pardon him at the end of his term and who is going to care? The attitude will be: “Well the sentence was already commuted, what’s the big deal if he is pardoned too?”. The timing makes sense as well. If Libby was going to be allowed to stay out of jail during appeals, then the President could have skipped step #1. All this is assuming that you can pardon after commuting.
So what’s the debate?
Among scoundrels. Sheesh, I really am disheartened now. I at least thought that the patsy fall guy would be allowed to twist in the wind in some kind of prison for a bit of, well, decorum, and a solemn nod at the judicial process here. This is more like a carnival dunking booth: Scooter gets the balls hurled and dunked, but, now that the twinkling lights of the Midway have ebbed, gets dried off and all fears allayed as to any real penance.
Anyone have a simple cauterization tool for the ol’ brainpan? It hurts to think of this type of action as what the US government has become.
The debate: How, exactly, can one express their dismay and heartfelt sickness and rage at this news, without getting a visit from the Secret Service?
Surely if that were a danger most Dopers would be in Guantanamo bay guarded by the rest by now. 
Take it from me, Gitmo is much more tolerable since I got my new iPhone.
Do not expect a pardon or commutation. You will face justice.
You want to elaborate on that? Where the hell did you get six hundred bucks?
Why even have laws?
So you can punish your political enemies, of course.
I can not discern your political affiliation.
But then what would there be to flout?
Yeah…it sucks…doesn’t it?
Let’s not lose sight of how this fits together:
Libby was convicted of lying.
About the exposure of Valarie Plame as a CIA operative.
Which occurred in response to her husband’s article.
Which revealed that we were being lied into a war.
Libby was not the victim of some niggling partisan attack.
Screw impeachment. I say pitchforks and torches, and then the tar and feathers.
Torches and burning things are better handled in the BBQ Pit.
I see no debate, much less a great one.
[ /Moderating ]
Where do you think banned posters are disappeared to?