OBJECTIVELY PRO-PARDON. I'm not sure why this piece got Bob Bauer Wanker of the Day, but I'm in agreement with it: I'd be overjoyed if Bush pardoned Scooter Libby. As Bauer says, and as I've argued in the past, "a pardon brings the president into the heart of the case. It compels him to do what he has so far managed to avoid: accept in some way responsibility for the conduct of his Administration in communicating with the public about national security and in its treatment of dissent." The tragedy of this trial is how many steps removed Bush has managed to remain. For him to step into the breach with a pardon would center attention on the central truth of the Libby Case: That this was an action carried out by the Bush administration, in accordance with its policies, and with tacit and/or explicit approval at the very highest levels. That said, I didn't believe then, and I don't believe now, that Bush will pardon Scooter Libby. Bush will not tarnish his own record to protect a pawn. --Ezra Klein
