There is no good reason for President George W. Bush to have waited so long to pardon former vice presidential aide Lewis “Scooter” Libby. For Libby still to be twisting in the wind is unconscionable.

Despite Libby’s conviction, there is ample reason to believe him innocent of perjury, and possibly not even guilty of a bad memory. Even if his memory was indeed faulty, the evidence of any intent to deceive was highly dubious. Meanwhile, he caused no harm to the overall investigation, no harm to the country, nor even any harm to the high-flying Joe Wilson/Valerie Plame couple whose own mendacity catalyzed the whole charade of a trial.