Courtesy of CNN, take a good look at the past presidents and their pardons and then a look at Bush’s numbers.

Both he and his father are significantly lower in pardons and commutations then their presidential peers.  If Bush is really that much into cronyism, he really sucks at it.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/07/02/commutation-computations

George W. Bush:

Pardons: 113

Commutations: 4 (including Libby)

Bill Clinton:

Pardons: 396

Commutations: 61

George H.W. Bush:

Pardons: 74

Commutations: 3

Ronald Reagan:

Pardons: 393

Commutations: 13

Jimmy Carter:

Pardons: 534

Commutations: 29

Gerald Ford:

Pardons: 382

Commutations: 22

Richard Nixon:

Pardons: 863

Commutations: 60

Lyndon Johnson:

Pardons: 960

Commutations: 226

John F. Kennedy:

Pardons: 472

Commutations: 100

Dwight Eisenhower:

Pardons: 1,110

Commutations: 47

Harry Truman:

Pardons: 1,913

Commutations: 118

Be honest people.  Bush is minor league in the pardon game.

When Bush pardons one of his brother, I will call it a close race in the corrupt cronyism department.

And no, I am not justifying his commuting Libby’s prison time.  I just think the Democrats need to keep things in proper perspective.

Particularly when you see who Clinton pardoned.

Hypocrites!

From Wiki:

On August 11, 1999, Clinton commuted the sentences of 16 members of FALN, a violent Puerto Rican nationalist group that set off 120 bombs in the United States mostly in New York City and Chicago, convicted for conspiracies to commit robbery, bomb-making, and sedition, as well as for firearms and explosives violations.

None of the 16 were convicted of bombings or any crime which injured another person, though they were sentenced with terms ranging from 35 to 105 years in prison for the conviction of conspiracy and sedition. Congress, however, recognizes that the FALN is responsible for “6 deaths and the permanent maiming of dozens of others, including law enforcement officials.”

I posted this last year, but it still holds true today, and while I formulate how I feel about everything this year, I offer this for you to ponder.

**

Rep Toby Nixon wrote an essay on the Declaration of Independence which I found interesting.  So in honor of our Country’s Independence day, here it is.  It is followed by a poem I saw on Michelle Malkin.

The 4th of July is a complex holiday for me, full of pride, sorrow and resolve.  This is only one small aspect of it, and I may post more tomorrow.  Then again I may just take the day off with my family and enjoy a rare sunny day in Washington.

Note:  Tomorrow, Stefan Sharkansky will be presenting a virtual reading of the Declaration, featuring people of all ages reading small passages, including me.  I will be adding a post to it tomorrow when he releases it.  Shark also gets the Hat Tip for this essay.

NOTE 2:  Here it is:

The Declaration of Independence as read by your fellow Sound Politics readers is here [audio]. Follow along with the text.

Happy 4th of July to all of you.  Celebrate our country’s heritage proudly.

 Thoughts on Independence Day

    I find too often that when you ask people to enumerate the “self-evident truths” mentioned in our Declaration of Independence that, if they even have a clue what you’re asking, they too often stop at “pursuit of Happiness”. That’s a shame, because it is in the remainder of that paragraph that we find the most important principles — principles which we must be reminded of, since, in the words of Article 1 Section 32 of our Washington State Constitution, “a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles is essential to the security of individual right and the perpetuity of free government.” 

     Here’s a slightly edited statement of those self-evident truths, with punctuation and the numbers before each truth inserted to highlight them (the words are all the original):

Listening to late night talk radio, no one was more one sided, biased and openly conservative hating then Mike Webb.

His show on KIRO was genuinely hard to listen too, as he played to his base and consistently sought to offend conservatives.

He was rude, he baited his callers so he could hang up on them, he utilized deceptive tactics and he was obnoxious.

Yes, I am speaking ill of the the dead, not out of anger or malice, but because I know of nothing positive to say about him.

His rambling incoherent tirades against Bush for winning the 2000 election were ludicrous, but no sense trying to argue against him, he would never let facts stand in his way.

His curtain call was fueled by a conviction of insurance fraud which also showcased his paranoia, both in accusing a faceless conspiracy to silence him and attacking reporters for taking his picture.

Mike was the poster child for free speech.  He pushed every limit he could.  And the fact he was so offensive is a kind of proof at how good he was at speaking his feelings and making you react.  He was definitely good at that.

Frankly put he was bizarre.

On the other hand, he had a family and friends who cared for him, who worried when he disappeared in April, and who now mourn for him.  For them I have compassion.

But for Mike, I can’t feel any sense of loss.  I won’t dance a jig over his murder, because as goofy as he was, no one deserves to be killed and shoved in a crawlspace. 

But if you ask me if I will miss him on the air, I have to say no.  He was too hateful and deranged.

I love an opinion contrary to mine, because I love dialog and debate, but all Mike was about was complaints.

I extend my regrets to his family, friends and fans, and I hope that his killer is brought to justice.

This disturbs me in so many ways.

First for all, to all who say Al Qaeda is no threat, think again.  But a more disturbing element to me is that they used their status as doctors to hide in plain site.   Not only is this a betrayal of them being doctors, but it is a disturbing thought on its face.  Should we now look with distrust at our own hospitals?  I am afraid of the answer if we do, or even if we don’t.  There is no way to win this one.

Terror plot hatched in British hospitals

A suspected secret cell of foreign militants, believed to be linked to al-Qa’ida and using British hospitals as cover, are being questioned over the terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow.

Five of the eight people under arrest last night are said to be doctors. Another of those detained is the wife of one of the doctors, who is a medical assistant working for the NHS. The home of a sixth doctor is said to have been searched by police. Late last night an Australian television network reported that a suspect wanted in connection with the attacks had been arrested in Brisbane.

Attention has been focused on a group of nationals from the Middle East, who had not previously attracted the interest of security agencies.

Consider this.  Imagine you are watching TV.  You hear of a terrorist attack.  You see the terrorists being identified over a backdrop of the damage they have caused.

And one of them is your doctor.

Inconceivable?  Not this week in Britain.

Something to think about.

 Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Exposing the Neo-Right, Perri Nelson’s Website, Committees of Correspondence, The Random Yak, DeMediacratic Nation, Right Truth, Big Dog’s Weblog, Stuck On Stupid, Webloggin, The Amboy Times, Conservative Cat, Pursuing Holiness, Adeline and Hazel, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, third world county, Stageleft, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The World According to Carl, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, High Desert Wanderer, Right Voices, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

I cannot recall when I have seen a story make such a wave in the blogsphere.  Memeorandum has almost the entire page dedicated to tracking the various takes on this.

For those living on the moon, President Bush has granted Clemency to “Scooter” Libby, the staffer convicted of lying in the Plame leak investigation.  This means that his conviction stands, as does his fine and probation, but his prison sentence is commuted.

Just when things looked darkest for I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, when prison seemed all but certain, President Bush wiped away the former White House aide’s 2 1/2-year sentence in the CIA leak case.

Bush’s move came Monday, just five hours after a federal appeals panel ruled that Libby could not delay his prison term. His prospects for an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court seemed bleak. The former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, Libby was just waiting for a date to surrender.

I admit my feelings are mixed.  First of all, the trial of Scooter was a sham and a joke.  Period. As I said at the time:

Scooter Libby Thoughts

Overall, I think he got hosed.  The more I read of the trial the more concerned I get that he is just the scapegoat.

For all the gloating liberals, a reminder.  He did not get nailed for leaking Valarie Plame’s identity, the not so covert CIA babe.  Armitage did that, and faces no charges because revealing her identity was not a crime.  Please give it a rest.

Note:  I recognize that the criminality of leaking Plame is again in question, this was written before that CIA report.  Of course it bears note that Armitage is still uncharged….

In fact Fitzgerald knew from day one who leaked the name, yet he fished for a sucker to take the rap for months.  He searched for months for a person who he knew didn’t exist that committed a crime that wasn’t a crime.  A waste.