It's about THEM not wanting to go to jail

when karl emails his talking points (from his blackberry using his rnc email account), he expects them to be USED...

Note the choice words and phrases used by [Washington Post] columnists, editorial writers, and contributors to describe Fitzgerald's pursuit of Libby:

"train wreck"

"silliness"

"A game"

"overblown"

"Tempest in a teapot"

"sideshow"

"an injustice"

"remarkable for its lack of substance"

"a huge, dangerous waste of time"

"nuts"

"bankrupt"

"farce"

"excessive"

" should not have been conducted in the first place"

"an injustice"

"misguided"

"Fitzgerald's Folly"

I'm nervous Post opinion writers are this close to organizing noisy sidewalk protests on Libby's behalf.

boehlert rightly asks why such fervent support for someone who was convicted on solid evidence and speculates on the answer...

But why? Why has the Post gone all-in on a loser of a case like Libby's? Why the waving of the arms, the name-calling, and the almost comical rhetoric in defense of a relatively straightforward white-collar crime? I think the uproar is more cultural than political (or even legal). It's a class thing. The Washington Establishment, which the Post has dutifully represented for generations, identifies with Libby -- empathizes with him -- and is aghast at the idea that he might have to serve jail time for merely practicing the "dark art of politics," as [Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen] described it.

"...the Post has dutifully represented for generations, identifies with Libby..."

i would push that perspective a bit further... just as that very same media outlet in its current series on cheney described the overt maneuvers in late 2001-early 2002 to write presidential directives in such a way as to minimize the chance of war crimes charges, i think the elite ranks in d.c. - pundits, policy wonks, government officials, lobbyists, and even defense contractors - see the very real possibility of being charged themselves as co-conspirators and accomplices in the clearly illegal and unconstitutional actions of the bush administration... they figure if they can pressure bush to pardon libby, it will set a precedent that would be useful should their own deeds suddenly be subject to accountability...

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