The Importance of Libby

Steve M is underwhelmed by the Libby verdict¹, and comments that it's not

the big deal so many people think it is, mostly because it's contained to Libby and because most Americans can't grasp it (plus, they can't see how it affects their lives). I sometimes think that people who get excited about this may be fighting the last war, the last war in this case being Watergate. And history is not repeating itself.

The point about Watergate is well-taken (and I say this as someone who, as a 13-year-old, obsessively watched the Watergate hearings). Nobody's going to resign this time. There isn't going to be any impeachment. It's fascinating (and gratifying) to watch their criminal behavior finally be uncovered, but it won't solve any of our problems.

But I'm not so sure about the first two points--that it's contained to Libby, and that most Americans can't grasp it. If this article in today's Chronicle is right, most Americans understand exactly what it's about:

People will soon forget the details of the Lewis "Scooter" Libby case, if they knew them in the first place....

What will endure is damning testimony that confirms the public's worst fears about the Bush administration's behavior during the lead-up to the war in Iraq and its truthfulness since then.

The monthlong trial established beyond a reasonable doubt that White House officials at the highest level conducted a campaign to discredit those who questioned their declarations about Iraq's weapon capabilities -- declarations that turned out to be wrong.

And the testimony showed that President Bush either was lying about the White House's role in outing a CIA officer at the center of the scandal or was kept in the dark by top aides who defied his orders to come forward.

I don't know how reliable this is (there are no polling data), but Nancy Pelosi at least seems to agree.

And while I agree with Steve that it is the Republicans' incompetence that most directly affects most people, it's the authoritarian nature of the administration--their imperiousness, their vindictiveness, their obsession with secrecy--that guarantees their incompetence will always lead to catastrophe. Iraq is just one example--the example exposed in the Libby trial--but this dynamic is played out in everything they do. As Josh Marshall said a year ago:

The point...is that they are directly connected. Authoritarianism and secrecy breed incompetence; the two feed on each other. It's a vicious cycle. Governments with authoritarian tendencies point to what is in fact their own incompetence as the rationale for giving them yet more power. Katrina was a good example of this.

Which, incidentally, is worth keeping in mind as the Republicans gush over the most authoritarian candidate in their pack.

So, agreed, let's not count on Fitzmas to bring us any presents besides what little personal satisfaction comes from seeing Libby (maybe) punished. At the same time, I think the growing public understanding of what these people are all about is a very good thing.


¹So is the Washington Post--the difference being that Steve is underwhelmed for very smart reasons, and the WaPo is underwhelmed for astonishingly stupid reasons.