Sacrifice begets betrayal

The ceremonial sacrifice of Scooter Libby ended today with a guilty verdict on four of five felony counts. Apparently frightened at the prospect of having a light shined on the pretext for the war in Iraq, the very people who might have saved him never showed up to bear witness. Cheney, Libby's boss and puppetmaster throughout this fiasco, failed to come to his longtime friend's defense. Rove hasn't shown his face in public for some time now. Libby himself never even took the stand. Hence, the three most important people that the jury needed to hear from to substantiate a defense verdict didn't testify. You've got to ask yourself why. I don't think that Libby was afraid of being caught in a web of lies. I think he was worried that his boss would get caught orchestrating a web of lies. I believe that, just as he protected his boss when he lied during the investigation, he chose to protect his boss throughout the trial. With an anemic defense case and a seasoned criminal defense attorney resorting to crying in his closing argument, in hindsight, it now seems obvious that a live, under-oath interrogation of the Vice President would have shown more than just his true colors. It would have inevitably resulted in either his resignation, his felony indictment, or both. Hence, Scooter sacrificed his career as an attorney, his job in the White House, and ultimately will do time to save his boss. Which means that the trial was a charade, a foregone conclusion. And Libby and his 11 lawyers from three firms costing him his life's savings all knew it. They, at the behest of their client, had to follow the script, and do their best (even if it involved intentionally misleading a judge and resorting to cheesy courtroom tactics.) I only hope they send Cheney the bill. That, folks, is loyalty. And it provides a stark contrast to the conduct of Libby's boss, Cheney. Cheney betrayed Wilson and Plame. Cheney betrayed the CIA, and in doing so, he betrayed his country. Rarely is betrayal and selfishness exemplified so articulately as it was today when the verdict was read, Scooter Libby was sacrificed, and shortly thereafter, the White House press briefing was postponed. The abject corruption of the Bush Administration is now bookended on both sides -- on one by a proven pretext for war highlighted by a proven cover-up, and on the other by a scandal at Walter Reed where war vets have languished with poor health care and mountains of paperwork as a reward for their mammoth sacrifices. The question left in my mind is when will the incompetence and corruption end?