The Clinton defense.

Does Scooter deserve to use the Clnton defense? He can't say it was only about sex, or that it was a private matter, but the suggestion that it was politically motivated might apply. That's a lot of why Clinton wasn't removed. Too many people thought the impeachment was overkill or politically driven.

The efforts to make this leak into some kind of threat to national security are pretty overblown, too, especially when the Grand Jury didn't indict on the original claim. Another point that a number of the less liberal TV pundits have made is that a conversation like this isn't likely to be the kind of thing you'd make notes of or remember very long. I've wondered why Libby was having breakfast with Judy Miller at the St. Regis Hotel, and how often that happens. Does he talk to so many reporters that he can't keep track of what he's said to any of them? If so, should he be allowed to keep his job?

I don't think he deserves to go to jail. What did Sandy Berger get for swiping sensitive documents from the Archives? This just reeks of political scandals as usual. Nobody outside the beltway and political junkies gives a hoot. Why are we wasting our time. Yes, perjury is a serious offense, but when the question was pretty trivial in the first place, such as "did you disclose the name of a woman who is married to a person making accusations against the president and the fact that she works for the CIA, when doing so wasn't a crime?" doesn't it seem kind of like an effort to justify all the money you spent investigating it.

This isn't a legal defense, but the phrase "De minimus non curat lex" comes to mind, along with the phrase, "Throwing good money after bad" and "No harm, no foul." But then, that's what Democrats kept saying about the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Both he and Libby deserved to lose their jobs for the poor judgment demonstrated.