The Blind 29

I was going to write about last night's wedding, but was instead thrown into a rage over a bit of news I just heard. Apparently, our fearless leader has really gone out on a limb, and commuted Scooter Libby's jail sentence. I've written about this case before, and was not at all surprised by the news today. Not surprised, but still angered.
The facts:
- Libby still will have to pay a $250,000 fine
- Libby is on probation for 2 years
The surmissions (by NPR, not me):
- Libby's reputation is ruined
- Libby will not be able to work as a lawyer again
The following quote from Bush's statement on the matter:
"The reputation he gained through his years of public service and professional work in the legal community is forever damaged," Bush said. "His wife and young children have also suffered immensely. He will remain on probation. The significant fines imposed by the judge will remain in effect. The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant and private citizen will be long-lasting."
My reply:
Tough shit. $250,000 would be a lot of money for someone like you or me (assuming you're like me, economically). $250,000 is a lot of money for someone like Libby too, to be sure, no pocket change. But when you make $170k per year (I have assumed an approximately similar per-year raise rate), it's certainly much easier to take. Especially when you have worked as a top lawyer for years and years.
He's going to lose his ability to practice law? Oh no! Of course, considering that he was hired by the conservative think tank Hudson Institute in January of '06, this along with the previous salary thing are probably not that big a deal. (Fun Facts aside! Google hudson institute libby. The first link is to a Hudson Institute staff bio page that is, shockingly, now blank, except for Libby's title at the top, "Senior Advisor." You can bet the farm that anybody working as a Senior Advisor for the Hudson Institute is making a boatload more money than you or I. Another Fun Fact, if you click on the second link in the google search, you get to the Hudson Institute's press release about hiring Libby. He is not listed in their staff directory (despite still having a blank page under their staff bios), but even better if you search for "Lewis Libby" on their webpage, you get 0 results! They are actually covering up the fact that he works for them.)
Furthermore, I am pretty sure that as a direct result of his actions, a certain Ms. Valerie Plame can never again work in her goddamn chosen field. And, unlike the case of Mr. Libby, where he won't be a lawyer again because he was found guilty by a jury of his peers of a number of crimes, Plame was brought down because her husband was a little too critical of the administration for their liking; I don't think anybody denies this. Plame was a victim of the administration's croneyism; in another way, so was Libby.
The speculation is that, what with Bush's poll numbers so low (29% - worst since Tricky Dick!), he had to do something to appease what is left of his base, the real neo-cons ("The neutrality and factual accuracy of this article or section are disputed" I bet they are!). Gotta get Libby out of jail to stop the leaking boat. Well, I for one hope that it doesn't work. Keep your 29%, you douchebag, but I expect that the 5% that were on the fence on that approval poll will now firmly be in the "disapprove" category.
Somebody deserves to go to jail for what happened. I think it criminal that this guy was pardoned.
I know that I have a number of conservative friends, although they may have stopped reading this blog about 25 liberal rants ago, but if they look at this, does anybody think this president character is on the right track? Does anybody approve of anything he does? Inquiring mind wants to know.