Kentucky's governor is above the law

According to Judge David E. Melcher, the governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Ernie Fletcher, cannot be prosecuted while in office because of executive immunity. This was, scarily enough, a compromise - the charges are essentially delayed until Fletcher is impeached or his term expires. Fletcher had requested that the charges be eliminated altogether.

Far from the righteous anger that ought to be coming out of the Kentucky attorney general's office (and when I call for righteous anger, something is seriously wrong), a spokeswoman said that the ruling "affirms the principle that no person is above the law."

Fletcher's lawyers are still arguing for a full dismissal:

there are other considerations as well which lead to the motion to dismiss. That is the important need of this state to return to normalcy, and get back to the operation of government as it should be without the cloud hanging over it.

I'm sure if Arthur Andersen's lawyers had argued that they needed corporate America to "return to normalcy" and therefore the charges of mega-corruption dismissed, they would have incited furor. Yet apparently nobody in Kentucky remembers that we are the government's boss, that the government can answer to nobody above us, and that the government must answer to us. For this man to want to keep giving special political appointments or at least not to get in trouble for his last ones so that government can run smoothly should be offensive to every American.

If you're not annoyed yet, this final bit should push you over the edge:

Mr. Fletcher pleaded not guilty last month. Last summer, he issued a blanket pardon for any administration member who might face charges, except himself.

Clearly the best interests of the people of Kentucky are not this man's main focus. Even if they were, I imagine he'd do a crappy job, but as it stands, his actions are not merely the misguided ones I expect of jackyderms, but criminally reprehensible.