While the jury deliberates...

Steve Gilliard says:

The word guilty has power.

To have the word guilty attached to the White House, especially Dick Cheney, has a power that can define perceptions.

Fitzgerald came out swinging, hard, against Cheney. Why? Because he could.

See, this is where rejecting the ISG comes in. Cheney lost his protectors both within and without the Bush family. The establishment needed something to hang on, and Cheney basically spit in their face.

Cheney can dig in all he wants, but the wurlitzer will cut him down if Libby is convicted. Questions will grow. Already people are questioning his sanity and they are saying "what happened to Dick". Soon, his health will come into play.

But imagine the newscasts "Cheney aide found guilty". That will influence a lot of people. Because the word guilty has power, and it is not a word anyone wants near a White House.