Former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell, once a rising star in the GOP, was sentenced to 2 years in prison after being found guilty in September on 11 counts of corruption. Most court watchers believe the judge showed extreme leniency to McDonnell in the case. Politico: Bob McDonnell pleaded with the court for mercy. In the end, the judge showed him some. The former Virginia governor was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison, followed by two years of probation, after being convicted of multiple counts of public corruption. The sentence was significantly less than what prosecutors had requested and what most observers had expected, and the Republican’s supporters were visibly shocked and delighted. People who had braced themselves for a prison sentence of closer to 10 years, and had sobbed throughout the proceedings, turned to one another with looks of stunned relief when the decision came down. But the one-time rising GOP star — who called himself a...(Read Full Post)