William Kristol Hearts Machiavellian Presidency

When did Faux News decide to slip truth serum into the coffee served to Bill Kristol?

This morning, the Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol – who accurately predicted the President’s decision to commute Libby’s sentence – suggested the order was timed to provide political cover for the decision by attacking President Clinton. “Here’s why the president acted the way he did. He knew Bill Clinton was joining Hillary in Iowa on July 4th. No, I’m serious,” Kristol said. “So on July 2d, Ed Gillespie, who’s a very canny Republican operator, said, Let’s pardon Libby. Clinton will rise to the bait, and we could spend the last half of the week debating the unbelievable Clinton pardons against the defensible Bush pardon.” Kristol concluded, “I regard this as an extremely clever Machiavellian move by the president. It cheers me up about the Bush White House, and I’m really heartened.”

Let’s recall how Machiavellian is usually defined:

being or acting in accordance with the principles of government analyzed in Machiavelli’s The Prince, in which political expediency is placed above morality and the use of craft and deceit to maintain the authority and carry out the policies of a ruler is described.

characterized by subtle or unscrupulous cunning, deception, expediency, or dishonesty.

Yep – this White House is Machiavellian. One has to admire Kristol’s admission, but might we suggest a true conservative would never be heartened that the government has turned Machiavellian.