The system worked and justice was served in the Scooter Libby case because Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald was not fired or muzzled.

As we know, the Bush Administration is not above firing federal prosecutors for political reasons.

But they couldn't whack Fitzgerald (though there was a flurry of rumors in 2005 that they wanted to).

Why? In part, because bloggers kept interest in the story alive.

This was not a story that received intense media coverage at first.

The media didn't really take it seriously until Judy Miller went to jail (and then it was a story about a runaway prosecutor destroying the First Amendment.)

And Democratic attempts to draw attention to the story were erratic.

But the attention in the blogosphere made sure the scandal never got swept under the rug.

With enough light being shone on the investigation, it was too difficult for the White House to squelch Fitzgerald without suffering severe political fallout.

This was a case of the blogosphere at its best, applying the right kind of political and media pressure so the truth could triumph over misinformation.

This is not to say this battle is over.

The conservative noise machine is still trying to undermine the jury verdict, and create a political climate favorable for a presidential pardon.

Seems implausible they could alter the dynamic.

But one thing the conservative movement has long recognized is that public opinion does not solidify immediately after a court decision, it only begins to form.

Liberals -- believing in constitutional government, checks and balances, fair trials and all sorts of silly stuff the Founders made up -- often make the mistake of treating the court's decision as the final victory, and then take a breather.

When in fact, that's often when the battle for public opinion is just beginning.

Fortunately, many leaders said the right things today. Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid called on Dubya to renounce any pardon. DNC Chair Howard Dean said the verdict was "the tip of the iceberg," wanting more answers from Dick Cheney.

The question is, will there be follow-through?

Will we all be able to maintain the pressure so neither Bush nor Cheney can ever face questioners for the rest of their term without having to deal with the outstanding questions?

Follow-through is the trickiest part of dealing with the Bushies, because so many disturbing things are happening all at once, it's difficult to keep up.

With the Joe and Valerie Wilson still pursuing their civil suit against Cheney and others, there should be a vehicle to maintain pressure.

But, as is often the case, that's easier said than done.