" Absolutely! Our politicians are completely out of control. It is no longer about governing by the people of the people, for the people. It is all about power, money and greed for the politician. They are out to get eachother for their own gain. I'm tired of it. "

" There are sentencing guidelines set for the courts. According to every article I have read on this topic the judge only meted out the sentence in accord with those guidelines. When you consider that the intent (proven in court) was to thwart an investigation into wrong doing by other White House staffers, I feel it was not unduly harsh or severe. That being said it isn't any more unusual than the Clinton pardons granted to some of his political hacks. "

" Mr. Libby obstructed and perjured himself in an investigation concerning the outing of a CIA agent and the exposing of a CIA front company, Brewster-Jennings & Associates. Judge Reggie B. Walton's sentence was appropriate based on the recommendation of the probation department and what Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald requested. Judge Walton determined the sentence based on the seriousness of the investigation Mr. Libby obstructed. The sentence was clearly just. It is interesting that President Bush's "Get out of jail free" play came just after the Bush administration had announced a tough new crime bill that would bar judges from going easy on criminals. Judges would be free to impose longer sentences, but not shorter ones. "

" Absolutely to harsh. Unlike President Clinton's perjury in the Paula Jones sexual harrassment lawsuit, in this case there was no original crime committed! Even the author of the law admits that Plame did not meet the definition of a covert agent as applied to this law. If it was a crime, don't you think Fitzgerald would have tried to prosecute Richard Armitage, the person who revealed Plames' identity? While a complete pardon would have been more appropriate, the commutation of the prison sentence was the least that should have been done. "

" I would find it interesting for you to do a poll on what people think about all criminals Pres. Clinton pardoned. "

" What does Clinton have to do with this? This is a tired deflection by people who can't defend this administrations actions. "

" Patrick Fitzgerald should move to Durham, NC and take the DA job there. ... I challenge anyone who is complaining about the commutation to specify what the Libby lie was. Really. You can’t find it in any of the news coverage. ... Worse, still, Fitzgerald knew who leaked her name BEFORE he had called his first witness !!! This guy makes Ken Starr look good. Getting called to be a special prosecutor is a once in a lifetime chance to advance a political career. He took it. He jailed reporters and drug the country through a which hunt. He spent millions of dollars. The whole time he knew who did it - Richard Armitage - an anti-Iraq War member of the State Department (which is not part of the White House) and that no crime had been committed. Still he pressed on. The saddest part is that we the people were so hot to get at Karl Rove we picked up our pitchforks and torches and marched along to the gates of the castle. ... This whole episode should make you worry about how the mob mentality could one day effect you. "

" My first thought on this is to wonder if Libby was actually a sacrificial lamb to take the heat off of Dick Cheney. Does Bush owe it to Libby to fully pardon him? There's more to come, trust me. Perjury, it's all about lying. If we could take the reigning administration (at any given time) and the sitting congress (at any given time) and put them all in jail for 30 months (for lying to us) - we'd all be a lot safer and temporarily free from their collective power-mongering insanities. Viva la revoluccion! "

" If Sandy Berger can walk free despite the overwhelming evidence of even worse wrong-doing on behalf of Clinton, then you can't punish Scooter Libby for ANYTHING. No partisan politics here...just simple logic and common sense. "

" Clinton has nothing to do with it, other than to point out hypocrisy. "

" It is a travesty of justice that the President of the United States has the nerve not to allow the judicial branch of government to render a decision to hold political individuals liable for what they do if an illegal and harmful nature. The President's decision is not an example of how a democratic country is to operate. "

" The underlying crimes were committed by Bush and Cheney. Bush and Cheney are traitors. Libby was asked to reveal a covert CIA agent's name by Bush and/or Cheney. The commutation of Libby's sentence is a means by which to keep Libby silent until the end of Bush's/Cheney's terms of office. Bush and Cheney ought to be impeached and removed from their offices for their many, many crimes. "

" Read the Constitution. It's all clearly spelled out and quite legal for the President to pardon or commute any sentence he wants... "

" I think that Bush was just doing what he was told (by Cheney.) Come on y'all, we all know who is running this country and this dude does not answer to ANYONE. He needs a reminder - pride comes before a fall. Wait for it......... Clunk!! Libby broke the law, but Cheney thinks he is the law and the rest. Personally, this administration completely disgusts me. Clinton's sexploits are mere trivia. Yes, Clinton squeaked in some questionable pardons at the last minute, but does that excuse this one? "

" Given the severity of the issues of national security, they weren't harsh enough. This administration thinks that means justifies any of the ends it chooses. It treats the public as naive, apatheic saps who don't know and don't deserve any better. Mr. Libby should be in jail and a few of his buddies should be sharing his cell. "

" AND: just because you can do it, doesn't mean you should do i5t! "

" The right wants us to believe that no crime was committed here. DUDES! It's a IT'S A CRIME TO LIE UNDER OATH! Mr. Libby's lie was that he said that he heard that Ms. Plame was working for the CIA was from Tim Russert. Based on other accounts (including witnesses from the CIA) and the timeline of the events, that was an obvious lie. It is obstruction of justice to lie to prevent the investigation of a crime from preceding to the truth. Mr Libby was convicted by a jury of his peers because they believed that he lied to protect other people who were involved. The judge sentenced him to 33 months because he felt that public offials should be held to a high standard. Who could disagree with that? "

" There will be a whole lot more of this since the "democrat" has the ability to impose its marxist agemda. "

" An observer wants to know what Libby's lie was? Libby said he first heard about Plame from Tim Russert. He said that happened on July 10th. In fact, Libby had 9 conversations about Plame with 8 people in the two weeks before July 10th. In fact court docs, in Libbys own handwriting, prove that Libby first heard about Plame from VP Cheney "

" If lying to cover up a sexual indiscretion is cause enough to impeach a president than lying to cover up a treasonable offence should get more than 30 months, they should get life. "

" What a waste of time Fitzgerald is. By all accounts he pursued action knowing that the revealer was Armitage. But even with Armitage I am not convinced of malicious intent. Was not the objective to find out who committed a federal crime of "deliberately outing a CIA agent"? ...one commentor said that the intention was to 'identify wrong doing by other White House staffers' shows how the original purpose has been subverted to satisfy others personal fishing expeditions and biases. As you read all of the accounts, Beltway insiders are talking, gossiping, sniping all the time to justify their reason for being. Look at the number of reporters and individuals involved here. This Beltway feeding frenzy is filthy to me as they prey on anyone and everyone to satsify their personal ambitions. If you can't prove the primary charge, then save the country the expense and close it down. Personally, I would like to haul Fitzgerald up on charges of misuse of funds. This "he said - she said" with respect to Libby's charges is weak. His actions are tangental to the purpose of the investigation in my opinion. If, Fitzgerald had stuck to the original objective, would Libby's issues have even be noticed in light of the serious charges of outing an agent. Did he lie...perhaps. Does his issue warrant 30 months in prison? I question that. Had the judge allowed Libby to remain free on bond during the appeal process would have been a consideration I believe most reasonable people would agree with. If you were in a similar position (of potentially going to jail for a non-violent crime) and you planned to appeal ....would it not be fair (as I believe often is the case) that the individuals remain free until your appeal is resolved. "

" If Bush resigns or is removed. Plan A. will be realized = Cheney becomes President. Then the whining will get into gear! "

" nope! i never thought i would even hear that question! if you buy the ticket, you take the ride! "

" Why? If those who work in the most precarious positions of the country are geing betrayed by those whom we had believed were our representatives then, we have no homeland security; we are rotting from the inside out. "

" I'm wondering how Bill Clinton keeps coming into this. He was our best president and yes, he did some downright nasty dirty things, but none that got anyone killed. You, my friends, are witnessing, first hand, the downfall of our democracy/republic at the hands of Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rove, Libby and several others. This probably was not their objective when they took office, but see how incompetence and corruption can get out of hand? War, violence, hunger, badly managed natural disasters, perjury, cover-ups, refugees, post traumatic stress disorder of MONUMENTAL PROPORTIONS, shortages, oil (oy vey!), mismanagement of government, distruction of our constitution and our rights associated with it, airport safety, poverty, elimination of the middle classes, immigration, need I say more? Trying to contain this administration from it's out of control ways would be like herding cats. "

" If you can't do the time don't do the crime. "

" Add to all of this Bush's misuse of presidential privilege, then we should all be truly frightened. What in the world is Nancy Pelosi waiting for? Impeach Bush and Cheney! "

" Beth? You said it all in one sentence. "

" All politicians are crooked, get over it or better yet do something about it. If everyone is really as upset about as they say then write your congressman (Mike Thompson, napa)or your senators( Barbara Boxer, and Diane Feinstein.) If you all think that President Bush commuting Lewis Libby's sentence was bad then you haven't looked over the people that ex-president Clinton commuted/pardoned(yes there is a difference). Among them was Melvin J. Reynolds who was the Democratic Congressman from Illinois, who was convicted of bank fraud, 12 counts of sexual assault, obstruction of justice, and solicitation of child pornography had his sentence commuted on the bank fraud charged and was allowed to serve the final months under the auspices of a half way house. He had served his entire sentence on child sex abuse charges before the commutation of the later convictions. So please stop and think, maybe do some research, before you try and tell me or anyone else how we should feel about any elected official. "

" Bush's and his DOJ doesn't feel a 30 month sentence is too harsh for the AVERAGE American convicted of four felonies. The DOJ has regularly argued for sentences comparable to or longer than what Libby received. In fact, the Supreme Court just upheld a 33 month sentence for an Army Veteran convicted of lying to federal agents. This UNPRECEDENTED commutation is recognized as repayment and cronyism by all but Bush most loyal (and blind) followers. The comparisons and attempts to defend Libby and this commutation are pathetic as expected. To clear up some popular right wing excuses: *Perjury, making false statements and obstruction ARE crimes. *FOUR administration officials leaked while the information was still classified and Plame still covert -- Rove, Libby, Armitage and Fleischer. *Libby was suspected of his untruths before Bush's DOJ, headed by Ashcroft, appointed Fitzgerald to lead the investigation into a matter of OUR national security. *Yes, Clinton (never convicted of perjury) pardoned people ... as did Bush 42 (a Cuban terrorist, Iran Contra defendent and Pakistani drug dealer to name a few that have obviously slipped the minds of Bush apologists). *Berger pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge; Libby is guilty of four felonies. *We KNOW all four leaked, we KNOW Plame was covert but for the leaks to be considered a violation of the IIPA, it's necessary to prove intent and knowledge. *Both Judge Walton and Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald were placed in their "day jobs" by Bush. *Court testimony, documents, etc. can be found online for anyone still remain uninformed about Libby's actions. *The investigation itself would never have gotten off the ground if not for Bush's DOJ which could not overlook such a serious risk of our national security. Full facts will never be known as a result of Libby's obstruction. *This case is the government -- OUR government -- versus Libby, not "Republicans versus Democrats" despite efforts by felon defenders to paint it as such. It's heartening to see that an overwhelming majority understands this, with only a small percentage choosing to side with a convicted felon rather than our country and it's rule of law. "

" Our entire governmental system is a sham and is administrative....which means that as long as we allow them to operate and control everything, this kind of injustice will continue. We are consenting by allowing the system to operate, period. We are AFRAID to do anything like stand up for our rights for fear of being thrown in jail and all of our "material stuff" being taken away. We have been adequately brainwashed and seduced by nothing more than paper money that has no more real value than monopoly money. It's a joke and the joke is on every single American that is not a government employee. Ever notice that the benefits of government employees just seem to get better while everyone else that is a slave in the private workforce has to get by with higher and higher premiums or just go without any benefits at all? Don't complain unless you choose to educate yourself first and then stand up for your rights. Every single politician is a liar and I can prove it. There can be NO JUSTICE in this country because the judges are not truly part of the 3rd arm of government referred to as trhe "judiciary". They NEVER took an Article III oath so they have NO obligation to uphold ANY of the US Constitution. They are administrative judges/officers and nothing more and they have usurped power from the people by lying. Don't believe me? Ask any FEDERAL OR STATE JUDGE FOR A CERTIFIED COPY OF THE SIGNED OATH THEY TOOK WHEN THEY BECAME JUDGES. I have requested this in writing under the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) from various municipalities INCLUDING the Napa Municipal Courts and State Supreme Courts right here in our own little town and received responses stating that the clerk was unable to locate these required documents. What does this mean? It means we are blindly submitting to a system of courts run by people who can do whatever they please. STOP CONSENTING NOW! "

" too the core. Fire these idiots! "

" Bring up Clinton Kevin! 1) Unlike Clinton Scooter was convicted of a crime. A bunch of crimes, actually 2) Clinton's case was civil, not criminal and therefore by definition there was no underlying crime. 3) Fitzgerald was likely not able to pursue criminal charges because Scooter obstructed justice. 4) Are you implying that it is fine to blow a cover company and the hundreds of agents associated for political gain if there is technically no "crime" committed under a statute? "