Libby receives "get out of jail free" card [Updated]

Think Progress has a nice summary on why this is just wrong, wrong, wrong.

Un freakin' believable, even for this administration. I nearly choked on my beer last night when Katie Couric announced that President Bush has commuted Lewis "Scooter" Libby's prison sentence. Libby, as you will remember, was tried, convicted by a jury, and sentenced for obstruction of justice and lying to a grand jury in the case of leaking classified information (specifically, the name of Valerie Plame, who was at the time a covert CIA agent).

Bush, Cheney, and the rest of this group clearly feel they are above the law, and deserve different treatment than you or I. Where is the "equal treatment under the law"? Where is the outrage by the American public? Will our grandchildren read about this time in their history class and ask, "How could they let this happen? Why didn't anyone do anything?"

CNN has a roundup of reactions by the politicos, candidates as well as others. Here is a sampling, starting with a great suggestion by Sen. Joe Biden:

Sen. Joe Biden, D-Delaware, presidential candidate “Last week Vice President Cheney asserted that he was beyond the reach of the law. Today, President Bush demonstrated the lengths he would go to, ensuring that even aides to Dick Cheney are beyond the judgment of the law. It is time for the American people to be heard — I call for all Americans to flood the White House with phone calls tomorrow expressing their outrage over this blatant disregard for the rule of law.”

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, and presidential candidate “This decision to commute the sentence of a man who compromised our national security cements the legacy of an Administration characterized by a politics of cynicism and division, one that has consistently placed itself and its ideology above the law. This is exactly the kind of politics we must change so we can begin restoring the American people’s faith in a government that puts the country’s progress ahead of the bitter partisanship of recent years.”

Former Sen. John Edwards, presidential candidate “Only a president clinically incapable of understanding that mistakes have consequences could take the action he did today. President Bush has just sent exactly the wrong signal to the country and the world. In George Bush’s America, it is apparently okay to misuse intelligence for political gain, mislead prosecutors and lie to the FBI. George Bush and his cronies think they are above the law and the rest of us live with the consequences. The cause of equal justice in America took a serious blow today.”

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, presidential candidate “Today’s decision is yet another example that this Administration simply considers itself above the law. This case arose from the Administration’s politicization of national security intelligence and its efforts to punish those who spoke out against its policies. Four years into the Iraq war, Americans are still living with the consequences of this White House’s efforts to quell dissent. This commutation sends the clear signal that in this Administration, cronyism and ideology trump competence and justice.”

And these two toadies, as expected, I suppose:

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, presidential candidate “After evaluating the facts, the President came to a reasonable decision and I believe the decision was correct.”

Former GOP Sen. Fred Thompson, likely presidential candidate “I am very happy for Scooter Libby. I know that this is a great relief to him, his wife and children. While for a long time I have urged a pardon for Scooter, I respect the President’s decision. This will allow a good American, who has done a lot for his country, to resume his life.”

Here's the contact information for the White House. Give 'em a call today.