by Bruno Somerset

Created on: February 03, 2007   Last Updated: April 19, 2007

With 23 months left in President Bush's final term, the "Scooter" Libby trial will likely have no consequences for his administration. The daily events of the trial will certainly make headlines, and there will be accusations from the Left and denials from the Right. But in the end, the Libby case will not change anything.

This is an Administration that has avoided responsibility for anything over the past 6 years. No one lost their job over the events of September 11th, the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, or the Federal response to Hurricane Katrina. Certainly something as minor as "outing" a CIA agent won't keep the President or his inner circle awake at night.

There is another reason that the Libby trial will not have any real effect on the Bush Administration: Iraq. Iraq has overshadowed everything in this country since 2003, and will continue to do so. Vice President Cheney may well be deeply involved in the Plame affair, but people are more focused on Congress' non-binding resolution opposing a troop increase in Iraq, another measure that will accomplish nothing.

The Administration understands very well that with an approval rating approaching single-digits, the best way to deal with any new controversy is the way that's worked so far: simply ignore it. They will ride out the storm until January of 2009, then go on lucrative lecture tours trying to influence the way history remembers them.

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