Every year about this time, a group of elderly newspaper editors is slowly led to a table and shown stacks and stacks of three-part investigative reports about the recent problems with polar bears, the long boring process of building some civic auditorium, or the proud journey of a little Guatemalan girl born with six heads. The senile newspapermen drool a bit on the “finalists,” and pretty soon Editor & Publisher has posted the leaked list. MORE »

No, it’s true, he said something noncommittal about it! MORE »

The more we learn about the Libby jury, the more we hope we’re never tried by a jury of his peers. From the post-it notes asking “what are the charges again?” to their stupid Valentine’s Day shirts (the one lady with enough sense to avoid that awkward mess was kicked off the jury), it’s been apparent for weeks that Scooter Libby’s fate would be decided by a white-collar DC Apple Dumpling Gang.

Trying to convince us of the jury’s intelligence, Eric Lipton at the Times instead leaves us more confident than before of their idiocy. Relevant quotes and comments, after the jump.

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When we said Scooter’d get 24 months earlier, how could we be so sure? Because, well, we asked a lawyer. And he responded with a billion words explaining, in great detail, precisely what will happen to Mr. Scooter Libby. Here’s the conclusion:

The Judge will likely grant Scooter’s request to remain out for self-surrender, which usually means 6-10 weeks of freedom, but it’s a hell of a lot better than being taken into custody at sentencing and getting to the prison by way of a half dozen local jails along the way over a few weeks. Expect Scooter to also plea at sentencing that he’s got a drug or alchohol abuse history, allowing him to ask that he be ordered into the Residential Drug Abuse Program (often called the 500 Hour Program or RDAP) which will scrap off a few months of his sentence (6 to 12) and ensure that a few months more (usually 6) are spent in a halfway house rather than a prison. He also gets 54 days of good time credit for every 12 months served, he’ll be out in a little more than a year.

The full explanation is after the jump. Though it’s all moot if Bush makes like his dad and pardons Scooter’s drunk ass.

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…of one charge. That would be the false Statement to the FBI about his chat with Matt Cooper. Totally, 100% innocent. WE KNEW IT ALL ALONG, THIS ENTIRE TRIAL HAS BEEN A FARCE. MORE »

* Rudy G. thinks strong early poll numbers mean he gets to play Ronald Reagan. [Captain's Quarters]
* Walnuts McCain deletes his MySpace page, wants to focus on meeting friends IRL. [techPresident]
* Carl “the contrarian” Levin just wants to invade Syria cause everyone else wants Iran. [QandO]
* Bono likes Obama — surprise fucking surprise. [Shenanigans]
* Turning an MS Office document into a .pdf can turn you from a broke cube-jockey to a baller. [Swampland]
* Do explosions in the night make Dick Cheney wet himself, or just wet? [Rude Pundit]
* Lieberman gets lucky, Politico gets sloppy. [Horse's Mouth]
* Drop fifty-grand on a cause as worthy as smearing John Kerry and all you get is a lousy ambassadorship to Belgium. [HuffPo]

We learned last weekend (in this dryly hilarious Wash Whispers item) that Mitt Romney will be our “first PowerPoint president,” so it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that a 77-slide PowerPoint presentation detailing all of his major negatives and campaign strategies ended up in the hands of the Boston Globe.

What are Mitt’s negatives?

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That’s right, it’s a detailed diagram of the entire Plamegate conspiracy lovingly printed on a cheap white sleeveless men’s shirt. Order some for your friends! What did the President wear and where did he get it! MORE »

Just in case you accidentally had some remaining interest in the Scooter Libby trial, the defense has decided to ensure that it stops here: Neither Scooter nor Dick Cheney will be testifying. MORE »

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Walter Pincus revealed today at the Scooter Libby trial that Mr. Ari Fleischer, the slimiest former administration official of all, leaked Pincus the Valerie Plame story, not Scooter. MORE »