I want to be one of George Bush’s friends. One of his really good friends. Not because I have any interest in chatting with him, or having him and Laura over for dinner or catching a baseball game with him, but rather because I can pretty much do whatever I want, no matter how dishonest, hurtful or criminal and he would get me out of it. I could steal a car, rob a house, maybe even murder someone, and this guy would have my back. That’s the type of friend George Bush is. And that’s what he showed long-time buddy Lewis “Scooter” Libby Monday, the former Cheney aide who was sentenced to 30 months in prison for lying to both a grand jury and the FBI. Bush commuted Libby’s sentence saying, “I respect the jury’s verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive.” Commutation is different than a pardon in that it only reduces a sentence, but doesn’t wipe out the conviction. Libby will still have to pay a $250,000 fine. Which I’m sure, as a corporate lawyer and Bush-Cheney pal, he’ll have no trouble paying. So why would a president with a 31% approval rating, his own aides abandoning him, a broken foreign policy, his signature immigration bill rejected and quite possibly the worst presidential record in American history make a move so flagrantly unjust and unpopular? Well it’s simple. George Bush has absolutely nothing to lose. All he has left is his shrinking inner circle of cronies and his skewed sense of loyalty. In letting Scooter Libby free, Bush appealed to both of these. And no matter how corrupt he is or becomes with a year and a half left as president, deep down, everyone wishes they had a friend like George W. Bush.
•WaPo: Bush Commutes Libby’s Sentence
•SF Chronicle: What the Decision Means