Commutation

Among the more notable items (the paucity of other commutations, the fact that the commutation was not reviewed by Justice Department officials, et al.) relating to President Bush's decision to commmute, rather than pardon, Scooter Libby last night, a quote from an unnamed 'senior White House official':

One senior administration official said Bush quickly made his decision yesterday after hearing that the U.S. Court of Appeals had refused to keep Libby out of prison while his appeal ran its course. This source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk freely about the president's thinking, said there is "comfort" at the White House that the decision will not hurt him politically despite the Democratic outcry.

The question follows: will this decision "not hurt him politically" because of the timing (July 4th week, where much of the country is on vacation) or because with his poll numbers so low, the Venn diagram of Bush supporters and Libby supporters is almost identical.