Richard Cohen excuses the excesses of politicians with a sentence…

With the sentencing of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Fitzgerald has apparently finished his work, which was, not to put too fine a point on it, to make a mountain out of a molehill. At the urging of the liberal press (especially the New York Times), he was appointed to look into a run-of-the-mill leak and wound up prosecuting not the leaker — Richard Armitage of the State Department — but Libby, convicted in the end of lying. This is not an entirely trivial matter since government officials should not lie to grand juries, but neither should they be called to account for practicing the dark art of politics. As with sex or real estate, it is often best to keep the lights off.

Source: Richard Cohen – The Runaway Train That Hit Scooter Libby – washingtonpost.com

Why does it amaze people that sometimes the system works and the liars and the cheats from both sides of the political spectrum end up convicted and going to jail. And yes Mr. Cohen, government officials should “be called to account for practicing the dark art of politics”. Politics is not meant to be a “dark art”.