Michael Isikoff, in Newsweek:

In a move that has keenly disappointed some of his strongest conservative allies, President Bush has decided not to pardon Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, for his 2007 conviction in the CIA leak case, two White House officials said Monday.

On Bush's last full day as president, Bush did commute the sentence of two former Border Patrol agents--Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos--for shooting a Mexican drug dealer and then lying about it. But White House press spokesman Tony Fratto told NEWSWEEK "you should not expect any more" pardons and commutations from Bush before he leaves office Tuesday. Another senior official, who requested anonymity discussing sensitive matters, confirmed that no more pardons would be granted.

Bush's decision leaves a long line of rejected pardon applicants, many of whom have retained politically well-connected Washington lawyers, to make their case for presidential mercy in Bush's final days in the White House. Among them were junk-bond king Michael Milken, media mogul Conrad Black, former Illinois GOP governor George Ryan and former Louisiana Democratic governor Edwin Edwards. Bush also apparently turned down a last-minute plea from Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski to pardon her former GOP colleague Ted Stevens for his recent political corruption conviction.

I must admit that this news surprises me, as I believed that George W. Bush was going to do whatever he was going to do -- no matter what popular opinion demanded. And I'm not holding my breath on this report either, despite the fact that Isikoff is a great reporter with sources at the highest levels.

If this story does pan out, and the President doesn't pardon Scooter Libby or Ted Stevens -- or preemptively pardon his administration -- it seems to me that the scandal surrounding Rod Blagojevich will have played a not insignificant role. With the alleged sale of a Senate seat being thoroughly discussed throughout the press in recent weeks, could a President, even George W. Bush, really escape unscathed from pardoning or commuting the sentences of those in his administration and party? While President Bush (and I am happy to say this is the last time I will be using those two words in succession without the modifier "former" attached) may not care about his current approval numbers, he does seem to worry about the way he is viewed by history, and excusing the official misconduct of cronies might be an unpardonable sin for Americans, in the long run as well as in the short.

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IMHO, four of the bravest Americans this week weren't in Iraq and Afghanistan...they were right here in the U.S., in Iowa: "Des Moines Catholic Worker: Second Arrest Attempt On Karl Rove In Iowa Leads To 4 Arrests."

SECOND ARREST ATTEMPT ON KARL ROVE IN IOWA LEADS TO 4 ARRESTS

Four Iowans were arrested today while attempting to make a Citizens' Arrest of Karl Rove in Des Moines, Iowa. Citing Iowa Code provisions for making Citizen's Arrests as well as citing Federal Statute violations they claimed Rove had violated, the four were stopped at the gate of the Wakonda Country Club in Des Moines where Rove was scheduled to speak at a Republican Fundraiser.

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With the Democratic nomination contest finally over, Democrats now have the opportunity to put the rancor of last many months behind them and unite to defeat the Republicans in November by taking the White House and adding to our leads in the House and Senate.

Among the most important issues that will arise for the next administration is the question of accountability for the villains that preceded it in the Executive Branch.  Yesterday on Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Richard Clarke suggested a "Truth and Reconciliation Commission".  Some would go farther, others less far.

But few in American politics today have as much personal knowledge and experience with the Bush Administration's lies and its mafia-style intimidation as Ambassador Joe Wilson, whom clammyc and I will be interviewing today at 2pmPST/5pmEST.  And topic we'll be covering?  Accountability for Bush and his cronies after that glorious day on which they leave office.

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Think Progress brings us this most remarkable theory on the timing of the Libby commutation floated by Bill Kristol yesterday on Fox News Sunday:

Here's why the president acted the way he did. He knew Bill Clinton was joining Hillary in Iowa on July 4th. [LAUGHTER] No, I'm serious. So on July 2d, Ed Gillespie, who's a very canny Republican operative, said, 'Let's pardon Libby. Clinton will rise to the bait, and we can spend the last half of the week debating the unbelievable Clinton pardons against the defensible Bush pardon.' I regard this as an extremely clever Machiavellian move by the president. It cheers me up about the Bush White House, and I'm really heartened.

Well, if it was bait, the Clintons sure took it, both having made public statements condemning the commutation. And sure enough, their engagement on the issue did lead to a change of subject to Bill's controversial pardons. But despite the conventional wisdom of the Sunday morning talkers, I hardly think it hurt Hillary. Certainly it got the discussion off the positive aspects of the Clinton years and onto one negative, but the discussion also both kept the Libby commutation in the news AND served to further cement voters' association of Hillary with those 8 years in the 90s that Democratic primary voters remember with such fondness. And actually, I think it went a step further. More than merely associating Clinton with her husband's presidency, by putting Hillary on the defensive about Bill's pardons the discussion seemed to imply Hillary's complicity in the pardons, an implication that was made explicit by Scott Stanzel in a White House briefing on Thursday (h/t digby for the transcript):

I would say that it is amazing to me that they can -- with what they did on January 20, 2001, they can criticize the President for issuing a commutation -- his fourth -- insomuch as they issued -- President Clinton issued 141 pardons on January 20th...

Now whether this was a Freudian slip, revealing the true nature of the resentment the right has for Hillary (two for the price of one and all) or if it was the result of a concerted strategy, the fact is it merely served to further undermine in voters' minds Barack Obama's claim that:

The only person who would probably be prepared to be our president on Day 1 would be Bill Clinton -- not Hillary Clinton

Considering the fact that Hillary consistently polls higher than Obama on "experience" and "strong leader" measures despite having only a few more years in the senate under her belt, it's hard not to conclude that voters simply trust Hillary to be president because on some level they feel she already has been. Which is Barack Obama's biggest challenge -- how to ask voters to "turn the page" on the beloved Clinton years in addition to the Bush years when he's running against such a tangible reminder of the Clinton presidency. David Brooks touched on this tension on Meet The Press yesterday, but I think he draws the wrong conclusion.

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After a brief respite not achieving any progress on the immigration front, the Senate's attention is turning back toward not achieving any progress on the Iraq front.

A few Republican Senators have lately begun voicing (though not yet voting) their discontent with the way things are going, and have been going for quite some time, in Iraq.  What Republicans were dismissing as "cut and run" not so long ago is becoming a more acceptable policy among the GOP, especially to those Republican Senators who are approaching re-election bids in what is shaping up to be another cycle, like 2006, hostile to not only pro-war Republicans but, in many parts of the country, potentially anyone with an R next to their name.

As a renewed push on Iraq is expected, the Senate is expected this week to take up the Iraq Study Group Recommendations Implementation Act, S 1545, or as mcjoan has dubbed it "The Salazar Distraction," as it is questionable whether this measure would do anything to actually further U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.  Nevertheless, in a powerful editorial this morning, the New York Times calls for just that, immediate withdrawal:

It is time for the United States to leave Iraq, without any more delay than the Pentagon needs to organize an orderly exit. ...

It is frighteningly clear that Mr. Bush's plan is to stay the course as long as he is president and dump the mess on his successor. Whatever his cause was, it is lost. ...

Continuing to sacrifice the lives and limbs of American soldiers is wrong. The war is sapping the strength of the nation's alliances and its military forces. It is a dangerous diversion from the life-and-death struggle against terrorists. It is an increasing burden on American taxpayers, and it is a betrayal of a world that needs the wise application of American power and principles.

But is it principle or mere political posturing that has led the few Republican Senators who have recently spoken out on Iraq to do so?  While Dick Lugar is considered safe, George Voinovich is up in 2010 in Ohio.  While that may seem a long way off, Ohio is where a scandal-plagued state Republican Party is still recuperating and where two-term Senator Mike DeWine got beat by then-Congressman Sherrod Brown 56-44 last year.  Voinovich might simply retire in 2010, as might John Warner in 2008, but whether they are looking ahead to impending retirement or the motivation is fear of retribution from voters seeking an end to Bush's Iraq debacle, freedom from the shackles of allegiance to the Bush Administration is being sought.  Pete Domenici is perhaps the clearest case of political posturing.  Domenici, up for re-election in 2008, has seen his approval rating plummet from 68-25 in November 2006 to 51-42 last month, primarily as a result of his role in the Attorney Purge scandal.  He could use a pick-me-up, and with George W. Bush's approval in New Mexico at 31-66, this could be a quick way for Domenici to score some points.

Much more below the fold.

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