Bush the Magnanimous

Let's clear away the fog and get to the nitty gritty.

The White House offices of George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney jointly make up the most powerful inner sanctum in the world.

Lewis "Scooter" Libby was in the top echelon of that inner sanctum, simultaneously holding three positions there.

Libby was convicted by a jury on one count of obstruction of justice, two counts of perjury and one count of making false statements to federal investigators. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison, plus two years of supervised release, plus a $250,000 fine.

But George W. Bush--who presided over 152 executions in six years while governor of Texas and gave just one death-row pardon--commuted Libby's prison sentence at the last minute.

The nitty gritty stinks to high heaven.