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The Rules of the Game
// American Democracy in Action
Only lazy people aren't kicking American democracy around these days, both in Russia and in the rest of the world. The current administration in the White House has made so many mistakes that any attempt to bring violators of democratic norms to account provokes immediate indignation and cries of "look who's talking" or "just take a look at yourself!"
Still, however, it is occasionally instructive to look at how American democracy functions. Not for the Americans themselves, but for other democracies around the world, who are currently feeling more sophisticated and are secretly gloating about "democracy number one." In that sense, the paradigmatic Libby case, with all of its purely American and thus yawn-producing details, is taking on a universal meaning, forcing others to reflect on the boundaries of the possible and the impossible, the permissible and the impermissible, taboos and their absence in a mature democracy: in general, about the rules of the democracy game.
When we ponder the meaning of this story, we peel open a purely American reality. The presidential administration decided to take revenge on an important person, thus publicly daring to cast doubt on its own rectitude, specifically in regard to an issue that touches upon the country's - and the world's - holy war against terrorism. And it decided not only to take revenge but to commit an act of subtle and cold-blooded vengeance via a group of trusted administration officials. The special operation was successful. But okay, what happens happens, and what presidential administration hasn't had something like that happen?
But after that things started to happen that non-Americans just can't wrap their heads around. The accused in the dock turned out to be not the lunatic who had taken a swipe at the president, but an official from the leader's inner circle. Not only did he reveal a state secret – he also infringed on the rights of an actual citizen. Then it gets even more intriguing: it turns out that the trial of the member of the president's team is in a real court, with an independent prosecutor. Of course, the president can call the prosecutor. But he clearly won't do that. After all, he's in his right mind and he doesn't want to commit political suicide. So okay, if you can't defend your man in a straightforward manner, surely you can resolve the matter differently in court, by a more elegant and democratic means, in order to spare the administration? And here the president's team roll out the big guns: well-known witnesses who beat their chests and swear that this member of the administration is not guilty, he is fighting terrorism, he defended his country and fell apart at work, and you want to put him in jail for some stupid reason? It would seem like at that point it's time to quit with the play-acting. Because the official didn't mislead the nation out of malign intent. Just like he didn't intentionally violate someone's rights. And we won't forget that he wasn't exerting himself on his own behalf: he was taking care of the state, which is higher and greater than a single citizen.
But here it turns out that there will be no forgiveness for him. That's the much-vaunted American democracy for you.
Sergey Strokan
All the Article in Russian as of Feb. 22, 2007
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