Quid Pro Quo

Quid pro quo, an ancient Latin phrase meaning "something for something", was originally used to describe an offering to the gods. Romans, being very pragmatic people even in their religions, expected that the gods would respond, quid pro quo, to the offering. On Monday, Scooter Libby's gods answered his prayer.

It did seem so odd, during Libby's trial, with all the hushed expectation that star witnesses -- Libby's boss, Dick Cheney, among others -- would be called upon to testify on behalf of the Scooter. But the big names were never called to the stand. In what seemed a precipitously abrupt change of course by the defense team, the case for the defense was terminated, leaving Libby to the mercy of the court, and a jury who had heard a never-ending stream of damning testimony against him. His conviction was a foregone conclusion.

The Scooter showed little emotion beyond a faint smile. It was hard to imagine he had suddenly become resigned to his fate. Unless, of course, he knew he didn't have to worry.

Most presidents have loved giving out pardons. Clinton seems to have enjoyed it. So did Bush 41. Bush 43 has been less enamored of this presidential power than his predecessors, and even on Monday, offered only commutation of the sentence, reserving the right, it should be noted, to fully absolve the Scooter at some later date.

But sometimes, even a President can't have any fun. Like when the President is under a cloud of suspicion related to a crime. As Thom Hartmann pointed out today on AirAmerica radio, there was an earlier President who dabbled in this kind of quid pro quo behavior -- and it became a primary element in the articles of Nixon's impeachment.

The President cannot take this kind of action to aid in obstructing an active, ongoing investigation. This has been tried before, and it didn't go well. There will, in fact, be an investigation into this very matter by Congress next week.

I watched Dan Rather Reports this morning on HDNet. He was holding a round table discussion on the current Constitutional crisis. At the end of the show, in summarizing, he stressed that we're examining, not just the constitution and the law, but "who we are as a people." And his voice broke. He teared up pretty good, and I wasn't sure if he could continue. But he toughed it out, and closed the show.

I'm feeling like I've been through all this before. Except this feels worse.