The Republic of T.

The more I hear or read about Michelle Obama, the more I like her. The latest news about poetry night at the White House, and her reasons for holding it, are just one more reason.

First lady Michelle Obama says the White House is a place where people should feel free to speak their minds. To that end, she and President Obama welcomed actors, poets and writers to the East Room on Tuesday.

The Obamas hosted a night of poetry reading and the spoken word featuring James Earl Jones, Esperanza Spalding and Lin-Manuel Miranda. The night also included musical interludes, modern poetry and excerpts from Shakespeare.

Mrs. Obama says the administration wants to make the White House available to everyone. She also wants performers to share their experiences.

The White House is a place where people should feel free to speak their minds? I don’t know if Mrs. Obama had this particular story in mind, but somewhere Eartha Kitt — who spoke her mind to another First Lady, regarding the Vietnam War, and suffered CIA surveillance and the Johnson administration’s attempt to destroy her career as a result — is smiling.

I don’t remember how old I was the first time it happened. I couldn’t have been more than ten years old. We were in Philadelphia — my mother, my younger sister, and I — visiting my great grandfather on my mother’s side of the family. For my sister and me, it was our first time traveling that far from home, and our first time in a city like Philadelphia. Everything amazed us, from the size of the buildings, downtown to the narrow little houses on my great great-grandfather’s street, with no yards to speak of and no space between them; so different from our suburban home back in Augusta, GA.

Even going shopping was different. Instead of driving to the store, my mom pushed her grandfather’s folding cart a few blocks to a store a few blocks away, and we followed her. The store was a wonder unto itself; on the outside a rowhouse like the one my great grandfather lived in, but on the inside there were long, narrow shelves holding food, toys, and other items we’d never seen before.

Our mother had told us time and time again not to touch anything whenever we went shopping, but we couldn’t help it this time. We picked up toys and candy and other items, exclaiming to each other to “come look at this.” Until it happened.

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There are times when the Bush administration simply beggars belief. It goes beyond mere blundering to a willful obtuseness that borders on psychotic. If you don’t believe me, consider this. How dangerous is a man who believes he can do no wrong? How dangerous is a man who believes he can do no wrong, and who has the power to send troops into battle? How dangerous is a man who believes that he can do no wrong, and who has the power to selectively enforce or ignore the law? To whom does he dispense mercy and to whom does he dispense harsh “justice”? And on what basis?

That’s the question that came to mind when I heard last night that Bush commuted Scooter Libby’s sentence.

President Bush commuted Monday the prison term of former White House aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, facing 30 months in prison after a federal court convicted him of perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to investigators.

A commutation is distinct from a pardon, which is a complete eradication of a conviction record — making it the same as if the person has never been convicted.

Bush has only commuted the jail term, which means that the conviction remains on Libby’s record and he must still pay a $250,000 fine.

Commutations are rarely granted, says CNN’s chief legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin. A commutation is a total right of the president and it cannot be challenged by any attorney or court, he said.

It’s the fourth time Bush has issued one.

Earlier Monday, a federal appeals court unanimously ruled that Libby could not delay serving his sentence, which would have put Libby just weeks away from surrendering to a prison.

In his statement, Bush called Libby’s sentence “excessive” and reminded that the consequences of Libby’s sentence will be “long-lasting.” (Provided, that is, that Bush doesn’t grant Libby a full pardon before he leaves office.) The amount of consideration Bush apparently gave to Libby’s case struck me as a harsh contrast to the the degree of consideration — and the quality of mercy — he’s shown in other cases, in which much more than 30 months in prison was at stake, as well as the reason why.

Technorati Tags: bush, current events, politics, security, scooter libby, war on terror

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We missed sharing a birthdate by one day (and 62 years), but one of my favorite poets has his centenary today. Here are links to two of my favorite poems of his, "Oh Tell Me the Truth About Love" and "Funeral Blues."