A top lawyer for Barack Obama went off the reservation yesterday and published an article at HuffingtonPost.com calling for the pardon of Dick Cheney's assistant Scooter Libby, who was recently convicted in a perjury trap.

The Hill has a report:

Obama general counsel Robert Bauer did not ask his boss, a presidential candidate, for permission to write the article, published on HuffingtonPost.com.

But Obama's campaign said the senator would not ask for Bauer's resignation, adding that he is "still our lawyer."

Obama's campaign and Bauer told The Hill yesterday that Bauer was not speaking on behalf of Obama when he wrote the piece, and the blog entry carries a disclaimer to that effect.

So far it sounded like Bauer went out and became a GOP supporter, but then I actually read the article.

Here's a part of what he said.

Progressives are not so much appalled by Libby's lies as they are frustrated that this is all they have: Libby and only Libby. Left with only this, they want this small victory unspoiled. They want someone to pay.

But if the President pardons Libby, and by this act makes the case his own, he will have picked up a portion of the cost. Libby will fall back, restored to obscurity. Bush will step forward and take the lead role. He will have to explain himself; he will have to answer questions.

And throughout the article the emphasis is the same, Bauer is not calling for a pardon because Libby is innocent or the victim of a perjury trap and a railroad job as I believe. In fact Bauer doesn't care about Libby at all. But a pardon will let the liberals do what they always wanted to do: Get President Bush.

It's an interesting argument and a display of cynicism and partisanship so total and complete that I am both appalled and impressed at the same time. There is no mention of Richard Armitage. You may have heard of him, he was the guy who actually leaked Valerie Plame's identity to the media. He got a pass because going after him means wrapping up the whole thing without getting to Bush or Cheney. And Armitage gets a pass here as well. The whole thrust of the article is how to "Get Bush." If a pardon helps you "Get Bush," it's good and nothing else matters.

Obama shouldn't be concerned that he has an aide who's taking the side of the GOP on whether to pardon Libby, he should be concerned that he has an aide that so obviously favors the political objective of taking down the administration regardless of the truth or consequences.