QUOTE OF THE DAY….NRO’s Mark Levin explains his take on the president’s commutation scandal.

The way I see it, Lewis Libby was about to become a political prisoner and the president prevented that.

He did not appear to be kidding.

I hesitate to respond to such foolishness with anything substantive, but Levin believes Libby would become a “political prisoner” by virtue of charges filed by a prosecutor appointed by a Republican administration, a criminal sentence issued by a judge appointed by a Republican president, and an appeal heard by two more judges appointed by Republican presidents.

For that matter, as Alex Massie noted, “Is Mr. Levin actually saying that but for the wisdom and restraint of President Bush the United States would be some kind of crackpot banana republic? Why, yes he is.”

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Follow Steve on Twitter @stevebenen. Steve Benen is a producer at MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show. He was the principal contributor to the Washington Monthly's Political Animal blog from August 2008 until January 2012.