Mr. Bush Exercises Mercy

The President has commuted Mr. Libby's sentence. Well done.

We will express our opinion as to whether Mr. Libby ought to be pardoned immediately after someone explains of what crime he was convicted, specifying the precise act which ran afoul of what statute. This must be done in no more than five declarative sentences, using no words longer than three syllables. I don't mean to suggest that it can't be done, but I've not yet seen it done.

If longer words or more or more complex sentences are necessary, then he should be pardoned.

You may pick your quotation:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: "Disgraceful.”

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi: “A betrayal of trust.”

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers: “A horrible signal to the American people.”

Senator Barack Obama: “Ideology above the law.”

Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist No. 74: “The criminal code of every country partakes so much of necessary severity that without an easy access to exceptions in favor of unfortunate guilt, justice would wear a countenance too sanguinary and cruel.”