When I put my hand on the Bible that day in January 2001, I will swear — I will swear to uphold the laws of the land. But I will also swear to uphold the honor and the integrity of the office to which I have been elected, so help me God.
-George W. Bush August 11, 2000

This is the day that President Bush lost what little remaining credibility he had with me and likely with the vast majority of Americans. He just commuted Scooter Libby’s 30 month sentence for perjury and obstruction of justice. The commutation means that Libby will still have a felony conviction on his record and will have to pay a $250,000 judgment but will not have to serve any time in prison. This is the final straw.

For a man who built a reputation as a strict enforcer of law & order as governor, this is a slap in the face of every law-abiding American.

Q Given — given recent developments in the CIA leak case, particularly Vice President Cheney’s discussions with the investigators, do you still stand by what you said several months ago, a suggestion that it might be difficult to identify anybody who leaked the agent’s name?

THE PRESIDENT: That’s up to –

Q And, and, do you stand by your pledge to fire anyone found to have done so?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes. And that’s up to the U.S. Attorney to find the facts.

-June 10, 2004 Press Conference

President Bush has not fired Karl Rove nor pushed for indictment of Rove or Richard Armitage for leaking Valerie Plame’s undercover CIA role to Robert Novak. He hasn’t even stripped anyone of their security clearances over this.

President Bush flouting the law and the Constitution is not new but this is certainly the most public and flamboyant action he has taken. He has repeatedly exempted his administration from the full force of the law through his unparalleled use of signing statements which he uses as a way of “reserving the right to revise, interpret or disregard provisions on national security and constitutional grounds.” In effect, he uses them to exempt him and his administration from the rule of law- the exact law he is signing for everyone else to obey, -as he feels necessary. A very imperial notion, indeed.

We have a Vice-President who also seems to believe he is not beholden to the law, not required to disclose his public activities, and not even required to obey executive orders. The Vice-President, according to the Director of the Information Security Oversight Office,”does not believe it is included in the definition of ‘agency’ as set forth in the Order” and “does not consider itself an ‘entity within the executive branch that comes into the possession of classified information.’”

In his 2004 State of the Union address President Bush said “America is the land of second chance, and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life.” Apparently if your a loyal Bushie, they don’t even need to open the entrance gate, much less the exit.

President Bush has repeatedly worked to keep judicial and legislative oversight of his administration’s activities at arm’s length, if not totally removed. And now, when the Judicial branch has gotten ahold of a loyal Bushie, he has used his power to keep a convicted felon who betrayed the public’s trust from serving any jail time. He has just confirmed what some have been saying and many more have been suspecting; President Bush has no respect for the law or his fellow Americans. He has failed to keep his promise to us, to America, and to God.