What Courage?

Some would look at the stands that are taken by President Bush and see them as courageous, and indeed some of them are. It does take courage to stand up on Iraq even in the face of overwhelming pressure to simply admit defeat and leave. However, and I have said this before, US involvement in Iraq has been very poorly managed by the Administration, but they don't want to hear that, and that is not courage, but rather, stubbornness, which is far less virtuous. But if the President is willing to stand his ground so firmly on Iraq, with so many, from all over the political spectrum, at the very least calling for a change in strategy, if not a full out withdrawal, why won't he pardon Scooter Libby? I mean, the man is supposed to be his friend, and if you take a look at what has happened to him, has been completely railroaded. If you're not familiar with what has happened to Libby, here is the short version. First, a CIA operatives name was leaked by someone in the State Department, but she was not a protected agent, so that was not a crime anyway. In spite of the fact that no crime was committed, a special prosecutor was appointed. At the time that Libby was questioned, the special prosecutor already knew full well who the leak at come from, and it wasn't Libby, but proceeded to grill him for days anyway. Inconsistencies were found in his several days worth of testimony, and he was charged with perjury, even though there was no underlying crime to begin with, which makes the entire hearing a sham anyway. He was then sentenced to 30 months in prison, twice the recommended sentence by law, and the judge is trying to make sure he gets to jail before he has any chance to have his appeal heard. Clinton committed perjury during the Monica Lewinsky drama, but nothing was ever done, because there was a realization that the whole thing was a sham to begin with, so why doesn't Libby get the same pass? But, be that as it may, why doesn't George W. Bush have the courage to issue a pardon, and tell anyone who doesn't like it where to get off? He's willing to do this when he's wrong, so why not do it when he would be right? Come on Mr. President, let's give the guy a break.