i didn't do a dance for fitzmas yesterday (at least not on this site). my reasons were along the lines of what steven d said. scooter lied to a grand jury and obstructed the independent counsel's investigation; he deserved to be convicted. but he did it to protect his boss, dick cheney, and, it seems to me, his effort worked.
the new york times talks about the verdict leaving a cloud over the vice president, but cheney's never been particular sunny. for most politicians a "cloud" is when bad news turns the public against them and prompts some change in behavior. but cheney's approval numbers have been abysmal for quite a long time now and he's never done anything to try to make it better. why would he now?
which is why i think this talk of resignation is foolish. it's not gonna happen. the only way cheney is leaving office before january 2009 would be for medical reasons (theoretically he could also be impeached, but that's not gonna happen either).
so while i think the libby conviction was a good thing, there is a twinge of sadness over the whole thing. it shows us who the real bad guy is, but also reminds us that he's gonna get away with it.
