Oligarchy

In an oligarchy, it is categorically impossible for a rich, white, male, straight, member of the Republican establishment to be considered guilty of a crime. George W Bush, who has used the accusation of "activist judges" to argue for dismantling the constitution, just overrode the judgment of a jury, a trial judge, an appeals court, and an appeals judge, and commuted Scooter Libby's sentence. Most of the Beltway establishment (rich, white, male, straight, Republican sympathizers or enablers) are supporting the action.

[Update 7/3/07]

Mickey makes an apposite observation: the case was prosecuted and judged by Bush appointees, and, based on a reasonably complete and informed reading of the evidence, I believe they made appropriate judgments in keeping with the legal charge of their offices. (I would have more effectively nuanced the original post were I not laboring under the fairly stringent technical limits detailed here. Should have articulated more clearly that I believe this is closer to being a class- than party-based phenomenon (that is, if you're a member of the oligarchy, the oligarchy will intervene, no matter how flagrantly, to protect you from the legal consequences endured by the great unwashed). It's significant that almost all DC pundits, including the "liberals," were proponents of the Libby pardon/commutation.

However, I will still argue that the Republican White House has been far more prone to far more flagrant (and criminal--treason versus lying about a blowjob) violations of the law.