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Guest Voice: The Scooter Libby Affair
Jul 9th, 2007 | 4 responses
NOTE: The Moderate Voice runs Guest Voice posts from time to time by readers who don’t have their own websites, or people who have websites but would like to post something for TMV’s diverse and thoughtful readership. Guest Voice posts do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Moderate Voice or its writers. This is another Guest Voice by Alex Hammer.
The Scooter Libby Affair
by Alex Hammer
Four wrongs don’t make a right.
Libby was wrong to engage in the behavior for which he was found guilty. A significant number have concluded that Libby was prosecuted in a hyper-aggressive manner by a prosecutor unable to capture “bigger fish”, or used as a pawn in an attempt to do so. This would also, of course, be very wrong. What President Bush did, disregarding the decision of the jury, was wrong. And the Clinton’s statements, given Bill’s troubling pardon history, is hypocritical. And wrong.
So, there you have it. A sad, sordid (if that’s the right word), sorry affair almost all the way around.
I’m having a difficult time finding many – if any – people smelling like roses in this entire situation.
When Paris Hilton was sent to jail (and then sent back to jail), people debated about whether she was being treated more or less punitively than would be a regular (non-celebrity) individual due to her celebrity status. My central question is, if Libby was an individual who didn’t work for the Vice President of the United States, in the Bush Administration, how might he have been treated by the prosecutor, the jury, and the President?
And judged by the Clintons?
It’s just a question, and not one I know the answer to. But I think very worthy of thought.
To borrow from a famous commercial, “The world may never know”.
I believe emphatically in accountability and the rule of law. But I don’t believe in “gotcha politics”, nor in using people as pawns (if that did occur).
I also don’t believe in events being dominated by spin. And there seems to be enough of it in this case – in various aspects and by various sets of proponents – to mimic the most terrifying death-defying roller coaster ride at a major theme park.
And not that it is so easy to do, I realize, but we need to stop electing Presidents, frankly of any party, and supporting processes, that represent less than noble aims. Call me idealistic.
Or naive.
Our public figures, in some sense, reflect the public, that is, the common body from which they arise.
As the saying goes, “We have met the enemy, and it is us”.
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4 Responses to “Guest Voice: The Scooter Libby Affair”
Bill Kristol suggested the timing of the commutation was politically engineered to embarass the Clintons who were campaigning in Iowa. The WH knew it would be attacked by right and left after announcing the commutation, and picked the week that Bill Clinton was helping out his wife, so that the subject of Clinton’s pardons would resurface, and they would look like hypocrites. That’s exactly what happened- as there was no way for them to avoid the subject of Libby’s commutation entirely. Smart political move by the WH, as the Iowa press covered the history of the Clinton pardons as much as they covered their campaign appearances.
Good work – right on the money, IMHO. No one looks good in DC these days, and although the President’s approval rating is in the cellar, the press isn’t making much of the fact that Congress is also receiving very low public approval ratings. The Libby case is emblematic of what is so wrong with government at the present time. Too many people want to count coup on the other side at all costs, and don’t care if what they are doing disrupts the workings of open government, and corrodes public trust in the government. None of the players in the Libby case get high marks.
Thank you for the feedback, encouragement, and your thoughts.
The press isn’t reporting on its own sinking credibility rating either.