What's legal versus what's right.

It's not like I need to beat up on "anonymous" any more than I have but I absolutely must respond to an excerpt of a comment back here, where he writes (note highlighted portion):

Kessler's a Clinton appointee. Can't imagine why she'd give him a pass... Clinton's last-minute pardons certainly were within the law. I don't disagree with that. But being within the law doesn't mean something is always right. Funny how you liberals believe that except when it comes to your own.

Pause and savour with me, if you will, the notion of a right-wing, neo-con Bush supporter taking the position that what's legal isn't always what's right.

Do I really have to explain the jaw-dropping hypocrisy here?

Remember, this is the Bush administration that justified wire-tapping Americans without warrants or court orders by saying that, as they read it, they had the authority. No discussion as to whether this was appropriate or right -- it all hinged solely on legal arguments.

This is the administration that redefined and re-interpreted the Geneva conventions to justify the incarceration of alleged combatants with no recourse to the legal system whatsoever. No discussion whatever as to whether this was "right." Again, strictly legal arguments.

This is the administration that claims it has the unfettered right to torture those detainees or perform "extraordinary rendition" to send them to countries where they will be tortured by others. Not one word of discussion as to whether this is the right or humane thing to do, just legal semantics.

This is the administration that has totally and utterly given up on any discussion of whether their actions are right or proper or appropriate, and that couches every possible issue in purely legalistic terms.

And, of course, this is the administration (and its supporters) that thoroughly condemns Bill Clinton for lying about an affair under oath because, as we all know, when it comes to Democrats, legal nitpickery is all that matters.

I swear, I don't understand how these peoples' heads don't just explode from the hypocrisy.