Dear President Bush,
I have tried, I really have, to give you the benefit of the doubt. I started trying when evidence surfaced in 2000 that your aide, Mr. Rove, had run some remarkably offensive push-polls indicating that Senator McCain might have had some scandalous interracial dalliances.
But today, sir, I am truly glad that I never doubted you. I never, not for one delirious moment, doubted that you were exactly the scum-sucking would-be tyrant you have shown yourself to be.
The true shame of what you have done may, if you are very lucky, die with me and my generation. This is unlikely. Your many misdeeds have been so brazen and heinous and cowardly that you are most likely to go down in history as the most shamefully wanting “leader” that this nation has ever had. I sincerely hope that you wear that mantle for many, many years.
Now, just before America’s birthday, you have shamed her again.
You swore to the American people that whoever was responsible for the public release of Valerie Plame’s identity would see hard justice done to them. That you took that disclosure as a serious crime, worthy of severe penalties.
Now that a man has been found guilty in precisely that treason, you find that time in prison, any time in prison at all, is simply too cruel, to inhumane to lay on his head.
Sir, Mr. Libby is guilty. He lied while under oath and he lied to the FBI, obstructing an investigation that would very likely have buried Vice-President Cheney, another whose notoriety will hopefully serve as a lesson to future generations.
What is the pursuit of justice worth, Sir? You once claimed that we would find justice in Iraq. Surely, if the ugly shadow of justice that breathes in Baghdad is worth the lives of a few hundred thousand men women and children, then some real justice in Washington, D.C. must be worth a guilty man at least visiting a prison cell.
But no. Mr. Libby has been isolated, he has been terrorized, and he must now be rewarded for his loyalty. Of course, he can’t be pardoned, because then he could not claim his Fifth Amendment right to refuse self-incrimination.
Sir, I am truly disgusted.
My disgust notwithstanding, I try to be a benevolent man. In that spirit I will offer to you some guidance.
First, you must accept that the deception has failed. You have turned back into a pumpkin, and the wheels have fallen off of your Presidency. I know that you crave respect. What man does not? But you can no longer manufacture or demand that respect. If you want any more respect, you will have to earn it.
I urge you, I ask you, I beg you to tell the people of the world the truth. The real truth. No matter how ugly. Tell us who was responsible for what happened in 2000 and 2004. Tell us who was on that Energy Policy task force back in 2001. Tell us who gave you the forged documents that you used to propel the United States into Iraq. Tell us why. Tell us where the bodies are buried and show us the skeletons in your closet.
Sir, enough lies. Perhaps truth will change your legacy.
You concluded your statement on the occasion of the commutation of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby’s prison sentence thusly: “The Constitution gives the President the power of clemency to be used when he deems it to be warranted. It is my judgment that a commutation of the prison term in Mr. Libby’s case is an appropriate exercise of this power.”
This gets at the crux of your dysfunction as an American President. You have repeatedly pursued those uses of your power which are “appropriate,” or “justified.” This standard is unacceptably low. You are not just the “Commander Guy.” You are the most powerful man in America, and you are responsible for her health. I know that responsibility has never been your strong suit, but the time has come when you have only two options.
You must either spend the rest of your Presidency taking responsibility for your past actions and working to exemplify the kind of stewardship that this nation so badly needs after six years of your lies and manipulation, or you must simply go down in history as an excellent example of the excesses of power.
The choice is yours, sir.
Alpha
July 4, 2007 at 8:52 pm
I figured I’d post a copy of my first draft for all the fans, so here it is:
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You see, when I type with my fists, I get a lot of typos. Good things I spent all that time editing.
July 11, 2007 at 11:58 am
Alfie, why is it that nobody on the left cares that Richard Armitage isn’t being charged with anything? The entire world knows that Armitage leaked Plame’s identity, but because he isn’t one of Bush or Cheney’s “boys”, nobody cares if he is indicted or prosecuted - apparently not even Plame or Joe Wilson cares.
That just makes ring shallow your claims to want to see justice served; all you want is something, anything criminal hung on GWB or at least Cheney, if you can’t get Bush.
Your letter to GWB was very well-written and I agree with most of what it said - but to state that “a man has been found guilty in precisely that treason” is just intellectually dishonest. Many of “the base” may not know the difference, but an intellectually honest discussion of the case and the commutation of the sentence must acknowledge that Libby did not leak Plame’s identity, nor was he ever accused of that.
July 14, 2007 at 12:42 am
Balance:
I certainly appreciate that there are a number of people who are “more guilty” and guilty of much more serious breaches of the public trust than Scooter Libby. Richard Armitage is one of these.
However, as 70% (or more) of Americans understand, Scooter Libby knowingly helped to cover up those crimes. One reason we don’t have Richard Armitage in manacles is Scooter Libby.
Libby was a public servant. But when it came down to brass tacks, he decided to cover for the criminals around him rather than serving the public interest.
Perhaps it is unfair of me to conflate “participating in treason,” and “actively seeking to conceal, aid, and abet treason after the fact.” Of course, you’ll note that I didn’t say Libby was “guilty of treason,” but rather “guilty in… treason.” Not to split hairs, but I think we can agree that Scooter got nailed by a probe seeking to discover some very high crimes, indeed.