Clinton and Libby Have Little in Common

The entire case reminded me of Ken Starr and Paula Jones. President Clinton got into trouble for failing to tell the truth under oath as you know, just as Libby has. Interesting to see how the left in both cases handled it. Right?

That’s Bill O’Reilly, commenting on the Scooter Libby guilty verdict. He goes on to say Libby got what he deserved, but I gotta call him out on the little spin job above.

Clinton lied under oath about a matter that was of no direct relevance to the case at hand, namely the Whitewater land deal. Libby lied under oath specifically about the case at hand. That is a significant difference. Clinton was stupid to lie but it’s not too hard to view the Monica Lewinsky questioning as a form of entrapment. Libby was entrapped only by his own attempts to weasel out of culpability.

So, no, it’s not interesting to see how the left handled both cases. The cases are not particularly similar and the left’s reactions are not a sign of hypocrisy. That’s not to say that the left hasn’t overplayed Libby’s trial and the whole Plame affair (they have). But let’s keep a little perspective.