ON WAY OUT, BUSH DID THE RIGHT THING

I was glad to see that George W. Bush commuted the prison sentences
of former Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean.

I never had much sympathy for Ramos or Compean, disgraced law
enforcement officers who were convicted of shooting a Mexican drug
smuggler and then lying about it.

Bush was also convinced that the men were guilty. That's why he
didn't pardon them.

In a stunning display of situational ethics, Ramos and Compean became
instant superheroes to anti-immigration activists.

The narrative of poor, defenseless Border Patrol agents victimized by
politics and railroaded into prison was a convenient fantasy.

The facts were never in doubt. On Feb. 17, 2005, Ramos and Compean
were on patrol on the U.S.-Mexico border near Fabens, Texas, when
they spotted a van. When they approached, they discovered Osvaldo
Aldrete-Davila, who ran toward the Mexican side of the border. The
agents opened fire. Aldrete-Davila was hit, but he got away. No gun
was found, but the van was loaded with marijuana.

It was only after another Border Patrol agent heard the story and
pieced together what really happened that Aldrete-Davila was located
and the agents were prosecuted - to the chagrin of congressional
Republicans, border vigilantes and right-wing talk-show hosts.

Having said that, the reason I'm glad that Bush commuted the agents'
sentences is that the president did it on his own terms and within
his own time frame. He didn't give in to the bullying by anti-illegal
immigration forces or members of his own party.