The only thing that surprised me was that it was not a full pardon. I must admit that I didn't consider the angle of preserving Libby's fifth amendment privilege.
I heard a couple of pundits say that this will create a firestorm. I will be surprised if the Democrats do anything more than fulminate and bloviate for a few days.
As important as this case is, it pales when compared to the whole of the war in Iraq, the lies that began it, the constant corruption, the lies that keep it going.
The Democrats are not going to do a damned thing about the Iraq war and they are not going to do a damned thing about Libby.
And before anyone starts on me, please, consider that the steady flow of calls, e-mails and letters, the majority support in opinion polls, the plain facts and good old right/wrong analysis didn't stop the Democratic "leadership" from caving in on funding the war. Hell, quite a few of them even adopted the Republicans' talking points about deserting Our Brave Troops in the field. I used to be depressed, but now I'm just disgusted.
Posted by James E. Powell at July 3, 2007 12:29 AMi have to agree with Powell, until something comes up that convinces me otherwise.
i don't know all the legal complexities of these subpoenas that congress is issuing, or their enforcement, but this commuting/pardoning thing would seem to give the executive branch totally unlimited power in avoiding all accountability for any and all of its members.
perhaps the only solution would be to impeach the two top bastards. but who can imagine that really happening with this set of weakling demorats in power.
While pardoning their own, they are at the same time, tryint to implement MINIMUM JAIL SENTENCES for every crime they can think of for all the rest of us.
Posted by mparker at July 3, 2007 03:49 AMSomehow, I missed the part where all elected officials and Federal bureaucrats achieve permanent immunity for all their high and low crimes, misdemeanors, corruption, obstructions of justice, etc. etc., the instant they leave office.
So, instead of blowing a gasket now, why not wait til President Gore's hand rises from his copy of Silent Spring at 12:01 Jan 20, 2009, before arresting bush for treason, then proceeding to round up the rest of the bastards one by one? Who will pardon them then? What is wrong with this plan?
Posted by bushwahd at July 3, 2007 04:29 AMMy father, an immigrant once told me that America was turning into a third world country, with everything that goes with it...corruption, collusion, cronyism, class warfare...you name it....
That was over 30 years ago...
At least people in the "third world" have the guts to take to the streets when necessary....and us?
I find it astonishing that Bush could insert himself in the legal process while it was still unfolding. It's once thing for a sitting president to issue a pardon once the appeals process is exhausted and the individual has begun serving their in prison sentence. This isn't the case with Libby. His perjury conviction in under appeal. What Bush did was usurp the entire legal process.
It's time for a Constitutional amendment to take away a president's right to commute or pardon a convicted felon. Bush's cronyism and bad judgment is proof of this.
Posted by Christopher at July 3, 2007 05:15 AMOn another topic...there was an article in the Post a week or two ago about illegal immigrants from Honduras being deported. One guy said that he'd only been over the border for 3 hours before he was picked up and sent back. All he had to show for it was the bible they gave him, and he still had the one from last time he tried. Someone please tell me our border guards aren't handing out bibles! Maybe this is the minutemen? Anyone know anything about this?
Posted by CG at July 3, 2007 05:24 AMAnd how come nothing's happened to Rove or Armitage? Shouldn't Rove have his security clearance revoked at the very least?
Posted by CG at July 3, 2007 05:32 AMAccording to the latest SurveyUSA nationwide poll, only 21% of Americans familiar with the legal case involving former White House aide Scooter Libby agree with President Bush’s decision to commute Libby’s prison sentence.
Allegedly, Bush is concerned about his legacy now and is worried about how history will remember him.
After commuting Libby's sentence, I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see his approval numbers drop even further -- possibly into the upper teens.
Posted by Christopher at July 3, 2007 05:41 AM"Shouldn't Rove have his security clearance revoked at the very least?"
I read yesterday (TPM maybe?) that Rove's security clearance was renewed recently. No mention otherwise on other sites or in the MSM.
Posted by cds at July 3, 2007 05:47 AM"Knowing that, who believes they will ever willingly give up power?"
Mary, they probably not planning on giving up control. We don't know yet what evil lurks, but we do know Cheney.
The Congress continues to sit and do nothing, and I don't mean just the Democrats. The message is loud and clear, you can commit crimes in the upper elitists groups without facing penalties. I get it now.
Mr. 22% and his side kick are still in control.
"At least people in the "third world" have the guts to take to the streets when necessary....and us?"
Parallax, we don't do that anymore. Didn't you hear, the 60's are over. We just take polls now to see how many people are dissatisfied. Not to effective though.
A pardon has been clamored for (by the opposition) and predicted by us for months, and I'm still outraged.
What a pack of corrupt criminals. The only thing missing now is a GOP loyalist quietly paying off Scooter's legal debts now.
Posted by idiosynchronic at July 3, 2007 06:15 AMIt's funny, the only one with a worse approval rating than Shrubby is Shooter who is doing numbers smaller than the statistical anomaly spread, like 3-6%.
So Bu$h probably figures he has nothing to lose, at least he's doing better than Dick.
Posted by Chris Rich at July 3, 2007 06:15 AMParallax, we don't do that anymore. Didn't you hear, the 60's are over. We just take polls now to see how many people are dissatisfied. Not to effective though.
Why not lead by example Judith?
Posted by snark at July 3, 2007 06:24 AM"It's time for a Constitutional amendment to take away a president's right to commute or pardon a convicted felon. Bush's cronyism and bad judgment is proof of this."
Christopher, I agree and have stated such a couple of times. I do not understand any rule that says a president can pardon anyone. The courts are for judgement, not the president.
What Bush has basically said is that he thinks the judge's decision is too harsh, so he will step in and make the decision for the judge on the punishment. I bet the judge in this case has a few choice words for this pResident. It was all a charade.
Posted by Judith at July 3, 2007 06:29 AM
Oh, happy days!
It's just as Joe Wilson said: obstruction of justice.
Bush inserts himself into the legal process in an attempt to protect a traitor.
It's a boon for the Democratic Party.
As a result, I'm doubling my contribution to the Dems.
The Repukes seem determined to screw up big time.
It's getting funny now, folks. Dumb and Dumber are on a roll.
Posted by at July 3, 2007 06:42 AM"Knowing that, who believes they will ever willingly give up power?" Well Mary, I was one of the hand-wringers who speculated that if the 06 elections showed major Dem gains, the GOP Rig specialists would fix it...that they would never give up power. That didn't happen, and the Dems now control both Houses of Congress...for all the good its brought. But look no further than the Supreme Court and the lifetime appts. of Roberts and Alito and you'll see the real power that they won't give up. Stocking the courts of the land, from the smallest to the highest has been the shadow goal of this Administration.
Posted by T2 at July 3, 2007 06:48 AMAs we all know, the sentence was commuted because Libby acted to protect Bush and Cheney. The Aspens turned okay, in the direction of lawlessness and in favor of Libby.
"I respect the jury's verdict," Bush said in a statement. "But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby's sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison."
Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald disputed the president's assertion that the prison term was excessive. Libby was sentenced under the same laws as other criminals, Fitzgerald said. "It is fundamental to the rule of law that all citizens stand before the bar of justice as equals," the prosecutor said.
A White House official notified the trial judge, U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton, of the decision. Walton, a Bush appointee who served in the White House under the president's father, had cited the "overwhelming" evidence against Libby when he handed down his sentence. A courthouse spokesman said Walton would not comment.
"Others point out that a jury of citizens weighed all the evidence and listened to all the testimony and found Mr. Libby guilty of perjury and obstructing justice. They argue, correctly, that our entire system of justice relies on people telling the truth. And if a person does not tell the truth, particularly if he serves in government and holds the public trust, he must be held accountable." George W. Bush
Bush then stripped away the prison time.
"After evaluating the facts, the president came to a reasonable decision and I believe the decision was correct." — former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
"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. Joe Biden, D-Del.
"The arrogance of this administration's disdain for the law and its belief it operates with impunity are breathtaking. Will the president also commute the sentences of others who obstructed justice and lied to grand juries, or only those who act to protect President Bush and Vice President Cheney?" — New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.
"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." — Former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070702/cia-leak-trial/
Posted by Judith at July 3, 2007 07:21 AMI would say the Cheney is having a very happy day. His finger prints are all over this one.
"If you're rich and right-wing and Republican, George is a real softie. As Bush demonstrated in giving Libby a Get Out of Jail Free Card, he is only compassionate to conservatives." Paul Begala
"Scooter Libby still has the right to appeal, and therefore the president will continue not to intervene in the judicial process," said White House spokeswoman Dana M. Perino. "The president feels terribly for Scooter, his wife and their young children, and all that they're going through."
Here's Tony Snow, asked about a pardon at his press briefing yesterday: "What the President has said is 'Let the legal process work itself out.' We're just not engaging in that right now."
Yet, hours after the D.C. Court of Appeals denied an appeal bond for Libby, the President acted, not by granting Libby a pardon, but by commuting his jail sentence.
Requests for commutation generally are not accepted unless and until a person has begun serving that sentence. Nor are commutation requests generally accepted from persons who are presently challenging their convictions or sentences through appeal or other court proceeding.
The Pardon Attorney, under the direction of the Deputy Attorney General, receives and reviews all petitions for executive clemency (which includes pardon after completion of sentence, commutation of sentence, remission of fine and reprieve), initiates and directs the necessary investigations, and prepares a report and recommendation for submission to the President in every case.
If the requisite investigation was conducted with a chance for the prosecutor and judge to weigh in, followed by a report and recommendation, the process took some time. Rome wasn't built in a day.
Inquiring minds want to know, was protocol and Justice Department policy followed or did Bush unilaterally make this decision, perhaps with his beleagured Attorney General or the Vice President, without moving through the proper channels?
I think we all know the answer to this one.
Posted by Judith at July 3, 2007 07:34 AMBush inserts himself into the legal process in an attempt to protect a traitor.
Well, yes, but Bush also commuted a co-conspirator by this act. He just added to the original crime.
Judith,
I have Patrick Fitgerald's email response to Bush's meddling up on my blog.
Fitzgerald reminds us that Libby is still a convicted felon. Despite Bush meddling in the judicial process.
Posted by Christopher at July 3, 2007 08:08 AM
A full pardon is coming and is deserved. What we are talking about here is a "process" (very weak at that) crime dredged up by an out of control publicity hound prosecutor.
Hopefully lessons can be learned here.
Posted by jj at July 3, 2007 08:27 AMSo Nero (supposedly) "agrees" with the jury verdict, but thinks the judge's sentence was "excessive".
That's an issue that could've been decided by the federal appeals court, of course, which is the way it's handled for every other convicted felon in Murica. But put that aside.
But my question for Nero is--if the sentence was in some measure "excessive", why didn't you let Scootsie first serve whatever portion you thought acceptable and THEN commute only the remainder? The only "non-excessive" sentence for this perjury was NO time whatever?
We know that the answer is that this whole appalling abuse is just another Big Lie for Right Wing Noise machine dissemination. But I'd still like to see Nero answer it.
Posted by euzoius at July 3, 2007 08:35 AMjj, you're a complete Bushist stooge and a thorough waste as a thinking citizen.
And you'll never "learn a lesson" about anything, if that's your take on the Libby trial and Plame scandal.
So, back to Anerican Idol voting for you.
Posted by euzoius at July 3, 2007 08:39 AM
Nice try Ezzie but being silly does not help your "cause"
Hopefully lessons can be learned here.
The lesson is that you are a moron. Next time you're testifying to a Grand Jury, lie to them. Obstruct justice. See what it gets you. That's what it got Scooter-butt.
A full pardon is coming and is deserved.
For what? You state that something was awry with the prosecution. What, exactly what? Scooter lied and obstructed justice. Do you doubt that? Federal prisons are full of those who lied and obstructed justice.
The Mad King, idiot son of George, has not pardoned or commuter-ated a sentence for anyone alive that I know of. He is Mr. Authoritarian Law and Order. So why Scooter-butt? Maybe he gives good head?
The Mad King is free to commute anyone he wishes, yet he even violated the standards set forth for issuing commutation in the United States Attorney's Manual Standards for Consideration of Clemency Petitions:
There was no input from Fitz, no input from Walton. No attorney anywhere for the defendent. The Mad King even fucks this stuff up. I bet you two share similar qualities!
Section 1-2.113 Standards for Considering Commutation Petitions
"Requests for commutation generally are not accepted unless and until a person has begun serving that sentence. Nor are commutation requests generally accepted from persons who are presently challenging their convictions or sentences through appeal or other court proceeding."
So what it boils down to is that your Mad King cannot exhibit compassion by using his authority to issue Federal pardons. He has no compassion. He is covering his political ass. You're lucky Pelosi and Reid are running the Dem show in D.C. Anyone else would have nailed you people to a cross long ago.
Posted by phidipides at July 3, 2007 09:00 AM"A full pardon is coming and is deserved. What we are talking about here is a "process" (very weak at that) crime dredged up by an out of control publicity hound prosecutor."
Let me get this straight jj. A jury of Libby's peers, in a court of law, found Libby guilty as charged. The Judge, following the letter of the law, sentence Libby to prison. But you, in your wisdom and legal background, think it was a "dredged up" act by some prosecutor? Perhaps you haven't been following the background of this case, or if you have, you should receive the Idiot Award of the year.
A jury of Libby's peers, in a court of law,
In a jesters court no less.
Jeez, it still pisses me off that Bill Kristol, FAUX commentator and PNAC crony, set the policy for this on June 11, 2007.
—On Scooter Libby—
KRISTOL: I think [the president] will not let Scooter Libby go to jail. He may not pardon him. He may commute the sentence, the prison sentence — in other words, say no prison sentence, but let Libby pay the $250,000 fine that Judge Walton imposed and therefore not overturn the actual verdict.
That way, he can say, “Look, a jury found that he made false statements. I’m not going to challenge that. But this man does not deserve to go to jail. The official recommendation was for a much shorter sentence. Judge Walton for some reason went for the maximum sentence. That’s not right. And therefore, I’m going to remove the prison sentence, commute the prison sentence but maybe let the fine go ahead.”
I would prefer a clean pardon. If I had to make a prediction, I’d say maybe he’d commute the prison sentence. . . .
Why don't they just move his ass into the White House, in 'Shooter's' office, he's got a direct line anyway.
Next will be war with Iran, Kristol has been beating that drum for over a year. And Loserman is tell ing the public that "Iran declared war on us!" (Can someone please tell Joe to STFU!)
Since Kristol is a top policy maker it only makes sense that War with Iran will happen.
Will people finally march in the streets then?
Maybe not. We will have been waiting for our Democratic leaders to have done something, (like their jobs) and it will be too late! Too late for our country, too late for the innocent people of Iran, and too late for our soldier's in Iraq.
I'm sure the outrage will continue and by the time we all agree that something should have been done sooner...it will be too fucking late!
Posted by Seven of Six at July 3, 2007 09:19 AMCan a president not follow the rule of law in pardon cases and get a way with it? I know the answer is yes in Bush's case, but what is the legal response to anyone who disregards the law on pardons? Is there a recourse and by whom?
Posted by Judith at July 3, 2007 09:20 AM"It's time for a Constitutional amendment to take away a president's right to commute or pardon a convicted felon. Bush's cronyism and bad judgment is proof of this."
Not just that you need to consider this:
The White House said Friday that, like Vice President Dick Cheney's office, President Bush's office is not allowing an independent federal watchdog to oversee its handling of classified national security information.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-cheney23jun23,0,863839.story?coll=la-home-center
Posted by Truth at July 3, 2007 09:20 AMbut what is the legal response to anyone who disregards the law on pardons? Is there a recourse and by whom?
Posted by Judith at July 3, 2007 09:20 AM
I don't know but if it ever happens we will need to know !!
Posted by jj at July 3, 2007 09:27 AM"The White House said Friday that, like Vice President Dick Cheney's office, President Bush's office is not allowing an independent federal watchdog to oversee its handling of classified national security information."
Truth, they don't have to and nobody is going to make them. End of story.
Oh, and you can forget about "the full force of the law" quoted by Ried and Leahy. What a joke. Full force of the law? What in the fuck does that mean? Absolutely nothing!
As long as there are absolute idiots like jj in this Country, who have never believed in our system of laws, we are doomed. What jj has never stopped to consider is unless you are the in the ruling class or in the upper 1% of this Country, they will turn on you.
"In a jesters court no less."
That's the kind of response I would expect from a unthinking fool.
A jury of Libby's peers, in a court of law,
"In a jesters court no less."
How cute.
A jury of Libby's peers, in a court of law,
"In a jesters court no less."
How cute.
Posted by at July 3, 2007 09:49 AM
AND HOW TRUE !
"How true." Maybe in the world where Bush creates your reality for you. Not for those of us in the reality based community.
At least I am not afraid to post my name jj.
Posted by Judith at July 3, 2007 10:22 AMA jury of Libby's peers, in a court of law,
In a jesters court no less.
Posted by at July 3, 2007 09:18 AM
A jester's court, with a Putsch appointed Republican't judge; a Republican't special prosecutor; and of course the best Republican't lawyers that the Republican't Party can give Scooter for his defense.
That kind of jester's court? Thanks for making our case for us, traitor. Maybe you can find some more covert CIA operatives to out while you're at it...
Smarter ditto monkeys please...
Posted by (: Tom :) at July 3, 2007 11:24 AM(:Tom:), stupendous summary.
These fucking Authoritarian Rightist freaks, could their brains be any more poisoned? Fox News has created an army of irrational monsters....
Posted by euzoius at July 3, 2007 11:31 AMThere's always a possibility Scoot may be convicted of some new thing as this case isn't over, just on ice.
Or maybe, more accurately, this facet of a broader case may be over but yet other facets linger so say the hammer falls on Cheney, not unlikely as the White House stink festers more over a long summer and new maggot bags writhe out,it may have been a bit premature.
Now I had an epiphany about the fragile X gene which causes cognitive impairments such as dyslexia, which baby boots is known to have.
Dyslexia is rarely the sole outcome of fragile x and there are often a suite of impairments, Aspergers, Attention Span problems or full blown Autism.
Science was not onto much of this in the formative years of Shrub youth but I bet the Patricians have always known something was up with Junior as he has a long apocryphal history of bizarre behaviors consistent with the Fragile X profile.
What if Babs and Poppy set up a pattern of overcompensation long ago to deny this affliction of the first born or at least cover it up, probably without even having much of a clue about its nature and extent?
It is a unified theory that explains his lifelong history of underachievement. An aspect of Aspergers, for example, is "impaired executive function". Sound familiar?
Now take this fragility of mind and match it with Shooters fragility of body, a physically unremarkable kid who ends up incurring a suite of heart problems.
Shooter of course is probably looking at prostate impairment and he certainly looks it, hair loss, corpulence and who knows what else in addition to a time bomb heart and an incapacity to go anywhere with a full MASH unit in tow.
Now imagine how this must shape their respective psyche's, particularly since they've been assholes their whole lives.
I daresay there is as much of a case for removal from office for being unfit to serve, the one mentally and the other physically.
I recall how excited Fortune magazine, the corporate bullhorn, was about W's candidacy back in 2000. The Oligarchs sold the Amurican pipple a pair of pigs in a poke and their various media pseudopods have been overcompensatin up a storm ever since.
And this media overcompenstation feeds itself as the initial lie or mistake becomes like a nucleus of a tumor growing fatter as other lies feed it with little likely of starvation because the oligarch media flatly can't get itself to swallow it's initial bungle, batting for this pair over Forbes or Dole or some other less impaired corporate pig shill.
Soon we end up with this mother of all culture tumors fattened to basketball size by the robust diet of lies and overcompensations from all corners.
That is what I think you will ultimately find when this thing implodes and someone like Pelosi winds up running the White House in late 2008. Cheney becomes a vegetable or dies from a stroke and W gets hauled out in a strait jacket.
These are among the many macro factors I harp on as you all work yourselves into a lather about the stupid shit faceless media swine from Broder to Coulter jabber about.
They are a side show, a useless peanut gallery of the hopelessly compromised and a distraction to more probing analysis of the broader planetary context. I remain oblivious to them and haven't read a Broder column or any print media stuff in over a decade, stopped watching TV 2 decades ago but I do check local WBZ news radio, owned by Sumner Redstone, the least sucky of the media conglomerates and a fellow Masshole.
If you really want a glimpse into the myths and thoughts of the only pig constituents who matter may I reccommend a daily glimpse at Market Ticker and its related forum of one Karl Denninger, the very image of a high stakes corporate market trader, a reactionary and utter machiavellian who is in despair because his own class is eating itself with a very large market crash highly likely between now and October, rivalling the Great Depression.
Think of Denninger as like an Uber Muckdog, far smarter and way more skillful than our little Mucky, wealthier too.
My favorite myth the pig circuit has is that gridlock fuels a bull market and the Gingrich Congress was a godsend.
But Karl D conveniently overlooks what, is to me the more significant factor. By 1995 the stream of cash flowing into the market from everyone's evil 401k plans began to hit a critical mass.
In the 'bad old days' of Democrat congreessional rule stretching back to the last depression, american households simply didn't participate much in Wall Street and it was less important to the corporate world than moving stuff off the loading dock an grabbing market share.
Fewer than 20 percent of households played the market in the 70's. It may have been as smwll as 12 percent. Contrast that with the vast cohort oc Chucky and Cathy Consumers with 401ks faithfully feeding the monster with eacj patcheck.
These Trader types have other interesting myths and when pressed hard they run away and whine about 'politics'. But they are at the heart of the reality vile reality of our times while the Broder/Coulter continuum is just the dork chorus.
Posted by Chris Rich at July 3, 2007 12:02 PMOh and pardon the sloppy spelling toward the end. I was distracted. I just copied my screed to tidy up in my own world which I never write in anymore being busy with other stuff.
You hapless wonderfuls are the sole,ahem, 'beneficiaries', of my rickety thought train these days.
You are some of the best people who ever put up with me and I can only hope I'm an improvement on the agitated and bankrupt dittoheads who feebly tilt at the windmill.
Posted by Chris Rich at July 3, 2007 12:11 PMWell, I always read you, chris rich, although I didn't think I had been too much exorcised today about the pundit class and whateveer they may be saying on the latest executive outrage.
"useless peanut gallery of the hopelessly compromised". Nice phrase, that. And there is no doubt an enormous malignant tumor is growing within the executive "branch" in toto, totally off limits to MSM commentary, and ultimately fatal to the republic.
The Libby pardon is just another abuse in a long line of such, and is going to be remembered as a famous miscarriage of justice, however small its place in the grand scope of world destruction by the criminals of Bushco.
Posted by euzoius at July 3, 2007 12:32 PMI suspect that jj won't be back. Thanks Tom.
Posted by Judith at July 3, 2007 02:03 PM"Knowing that, who believes they will ever willingly give up power?"
-(Mary)
Give up power?
The real genius of American politics is that even if 'they' gave up power, willingly or unwillingly, 'they' would still be in power.
Such power for such people cannot be eliminiated nor diminished under the American system. Once the necessary illusion is in place that such power has been mitigated is the proof positive that it is even more nefarious than ever.
There is no serious talk of eliminating thr power itself:That would be congruent with eliminating America itself as it has always been and continues to be, now or in the future.
Posted by Jill Bains at July 3, 2007 03:44 PM"Knowing that, who believes they will ever willingly give up power?"
-(Mary)
Give up power?
The real genius of American politics is that even if 'they' gave up power, willingly or unwillingly, 'they' would still be in power.
Such power for such people cannot be eliminiated nor diminished under the American system. Once the necessary illusion is in place that such power has been mitigated is the proof positive that it is even more nefarious than ever.
There is no serious talk of eliminating the power itself:That would be congruent with eliminating America itself as it has always been and continues to be, now or in the future.
Posted by Jill Bains at July 3, 2007 03:45 PMChris Rich, I read you and others do likewise, I'm sure. I enjoy your posts.
"Cheney becomes a vegetable or dies from a stroke and W gets hauled out in a strait jacket."
We should be so lucky.
Thanks Judy and Euz. Trust me, it's in the cards. Back in World War Two our precursor to the CIA ,(the OSS),did forensic analysis on the leaders of the third Reich, their actual physical health, what buttons to push and so on as a part of the total war effort.
I live with an undiagnosed asperger case, a 50 year old guy, my friend, coddled by his clueless parents who just died leaving him with a half million dollar home he can barely support and maintain.He's also dyslexic.
And his day to day routines are so like Bush that I realized this is the real story, the frail X gene goes to the White house. Look up the data and study the behavioral profile. All of a sudden W will make sense.
That is where the oligarchs blew it. In all prior election selection processes, the parties took pains to pre screen candidates to weed out the physically or mentally unfit. Don't you remember how Eagleton sank when it came out that he had treatments for Bipolar?
Don't you remember how many candidates never made the cut over heart problems, cancer or other body hazards?
Once upon a time, both parties agreed that selecting defectives for the highest office in the land was a dumb idea.
The presidency is one of the most stressful jobs on earth when you actually do it instead of mountain biking and reading goat stories to toddlers while planes destroy the world trade towers.
Most walk into it full of piss and vinegar but many walk out of it like they got hit by a truck and many die before their normal life span from the stress.
Posted by Chris Rich at July 3, 2007 07:33 PMChris, I have to admit you sent me on a google search and the dictionary. What exactly is the characteristics of the x gene, as I know nothing about it?
Posted by Judith at July 4, 2007 02:28 AMIt wasn't too long ago that many American men automatically found themselves restrained for 24 months in the U.S. military because they became draft age and yet we observe conservatives in distress because Mr. Libby is sentenced to 30-months after being convicted of five felonies.
Posted by at July 4, 2007 10:32 AMThe 'Fragile X' Gene is a very recent discovery. Essentially some circumstance buffets the X chromosome in the phase of inception and it is less robust than it would ordinarily be.
Researchers determined very recently that this damage to X is the factor in the suite of Cognitive impairments in a mouse test.
This is valuable as a discovery because, for young people at least, science may be able to identify protein chemistry 'repair kits' to reverse things like dyslexia and aspergers,
Search keywords would be "Fragile X Chromosome".
Posted by Chris Rich at July 4, 2007 11:08 AM