W straddles fence, commutes Libbys sentence

[mburbank]

W. commuted Libbys sentence, getting rid of jail time, but leaving the verdict, the penalty fee and the probation, which I didn't even know he was allowed to do. It's bizarre to me. It's like he's saying, yeah, Scooters guilty and he should be punished, but not much. When you concider that his fine will almost certainly cpme out of his legal deffence fund (or if forbidden that, out of a single speaking fee) and that he can walk right into a highly paid think tank or lobbying job, the jail time was the only real penalty. When your approval is as in the toilet as W's, why scruple at pardoning the guy? Does W think this 'commuting' makes him look better to anybody who think pardoning him would have looked bad? And for those who thought Libby deserved a pardon, doesn't it look cheap to leave old Scoots having to check in with a parole officer?