All the talk makes it clear that the mainstream media sales job’s building momentum to accept a Libby pardon.

His defenders’ references to all of Libby’s wonderful ‘government service’ neglects the fact that his service has actually been as a lawyer to defense corporations, shady international traders and politicians like Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle and Dick Cheney. The sketchy record of actual policy suggestions he’s made indicates he’s proposed pro-Likud/neocon approaches toward Israel and iniversal smallpox vaccinations for Americans. As he’s hardly the only one to take these positions, it’s not easy to see what he’s done for the country to warrant any special acclaim.

But his pardon is a fait accompli. It’s as predictable as it was in January 2003 that Bush was going to war with Iraq no matter what Saddam tried to do to prevent it. It’s also becoming clear to me why that is. Just as it’s clear why Bush will protect Alberto Gonzalez from dismissal as long as he serves as President.

Libby defended Marc Rich, after all, the guy illegally trading oil with Ayatollah Khomeini while he was holding American embassy staff as hostages. Rich’s pardon by Bill Clinton remains the worst offense Clinton committed as president, unless you think a perjury conviction is worse (and any advocating a Libby pardon clearly thinks perjury’s insignificant, even when it’s done to try and coverup a conspiracy that harmed our national defense).

Some Democrats would prefer not to revisit the whole Marc Rich deal. It could hurt certain Democratic candidates for president in 2008, so it’d be easier to stand aside and let Libby be pardoned, without complaint. Rich was also tied to financial activities in the BCCI scandal that aided the world’s leading terrorist of the time, Abu Nidal, and his then-harborer, Saddam Hussein. The BCCI scandal tainted Democrats and Republicans alike, so neither side wants to reopen that can of worms, either.

So Libby’s pardon’s likely to draw few complaints from some leading Democrats and Republicans alike. His service to the country’s been minimal, but his service to crooked politicians and crooked businessmen has been immense.

As for Attorney General Gonzalez, since he served as Bush’s personal lawyer through several scandals, it’s pretty obvious that he simply knows too much. Any leak from his lips done secretly could take down Bush’s presidency. He may not be overtly extorting the Prez as he clearly doesn’t have to.

So Libby and Gonzalez are one and the same: henchmen and handmaidens to seriously corrupt individuals whose actions have harmed our country. Since some leading Democratic politicians and government officials have been involved in some of these things, their motivation to fight the pardon or the AG’s job security is minimal, at best.

Just don’t buy the notion that any of this is high minded, fair, or beneficial to the country. In both cases, the benefits go to the corrupt neocon cabal that falsified the case for war then made it worse by botching everything since… and the currently leading Democratic contender for president.

One must be capable of suspending their partisanship to see and accept the inevitability of these pending developments. And one does not have to be a rocket scientist to understand what a gross miscarriage of justice is about to occur.

For those who support justice and a strong defense with our spies and diplomats protected from corrupt terrorist supporters, perhaps their consciences will lead them to the understanding that the only moral way forward is to break their party ties and pursue the development of a cleaner third party, or at least the support of clean current party candidates willing to fight these outrageous insults to a populace who remains supportive of the rule of law and an effective, uncorrupted national security system.