...does he really want his last act as president to be a "get out of jail free" card to a politician who flagrantly violated the public trust?

Yes. A pardon, from one politician who violated our trust to another.

Sure. What is one more "Fuck you" to the country and its laws?

Stevens himself has not requested a pardon because he's pretty sure he can show on appeal that DoJ fouled up the prosecution six ways to Sunday.

Something else to add to the Legacy Project talking points.

Pardoned convicted felons and traitors like Ted Stevens and Scooter Libby.

That'll "Restore Honor And Dignity To White House".

I actually hope that Bush pardons him. It would make Bush look bad, give Murkowski a black eye, but, more importantly accepting the pardon would be Stevens' admission of guilt.

But the most important reason it would be good is that (I believe) it would make moot Stevens' attempt to get his conviction overturned on the grounds of prosecutorial misconduct. And, unfortunately, there does seem to be some evidence supporting him. (Even the judge admitted there had been some, but ruled it was not of sufficient importance to cause a mistrial.)

If we have, rightly, been protesting Bush's mockery of the 'rule of law,' we have to be determined to apply it, even when it works to the advantage of a 'corrupt bastard' on the other side.

I'm guessing no more pardons, unless he finds someone who makes a particularly strong symbol to bolster his "legacy of compassion." Stevens might have been a possibility with his unfair prosecution, his age, his years of service, and charges that seem rather benign (receiving and not reporting gifts). But a better prosecutor (read: non-Bush appointee) would have charged him with bribery. He's also better known for the 'bridge to nowhere' than anything that would make him seem sympathetic.

I have a small glimmer of actual hope that we *don't* get the last-minute "bad pardons" for two reasons.

One is that the whole Bush 43 Presidency was designed to NOT DO WHAT BUSH 41 DID, EVER! Bush 41 still gets knocked in the press for the Iran/Contra pardons. Bush 43 doesn't want people comparing him to his father, so he might decide "not pardoning" was a good FU to his Dad. No pardons, wouldn't be prudent.

Two is that Clinton gets banged around for the Mark Rich pardon, and Bush 43 doesn't want to hear Bush/Clinton, Bush/Clinton on his way out the door.

(A third possibility is that he may not want to do pardons because "history will vindicate everyone" who worked for him).

Of course, no matter what I can imagine the Bush administration could possibly do, they always go further than I ever dreamed. So I'm probably indulging in one last bout of wishful thinking.

...and left the Senate in disgrace.

And here I thought he left to cheery fanfare and teary farewells.

The disgrace was that the Senate didn't have the stones to expel him, and instead hoped Begich would win.

There was a story the other day that the Congressional Research Service had concluded that Bush could take back that pardon to the real estate scam artist that was issued just before Christmas. If that is the case then why couldn't Obama rescind any 11th hour pardons by Bush?

I never thought of Bush as caring what we thought of his actions. Why would that change now?

To the tune of a certain Ramones anthem:

"Twenty, twenty, twenty-four hours to go,
I'm gonna be elated,
Tell W just where to go,
I'm gonna be elated,
Finally through with 43 after eight bad years,
The rich were getting richer, the rest were full of tears,
The blue's on the horizon, the red is in arrears,
Oh oh oh oh oh...
Ba ba ba ba be ba ba ba ba,
I'm gonna be elated!"

The same RAMONES song is running through my head, for a different reason. While the rest of you are enjoying the swearing-in, I am, literally, 'gonna be sedated.' I have a procedure scheduled on my back -- a nerve block -- and I might just be unfuzzing when the ceremony starts.

Now there's a song parody with an extremely short shelf-life. Like, you had to save it until just now, and it'll be stale in 45 minutes.

Actually, I wouldn't at all be surprised if Bush doesn't issue any more pardons.

"There was a story the other day that the Congressional Research Service had concluded that Bush could take back that pardon to the real estate scam artist that was issued just before Christmas. If that is the case then why couldn't Obama rescind any 11th hour pardons by Bush?"

I did not read the story about the CRS report you mention, but back when the pardon was in the news I did read that Bush could retract it because it had not been delivered to the real estate guy, so the guy had not yet really been given a pardon.

So if the CRS reasoning were based on that Obama would have to catch last minute pardons before delivery. I suppose it is possible some last minute pardons might not be delivered today. I don't see any indications that Obama is willing to take an action like that, however.

This also wouldn't seem possible with the "blanket pardon".

There was a story the other day that the Congressional Research Service had concluded that Bush could take back that pardon to the real estate scam artist that was issued just before Christmas. If that is the case then why couldn't Obama rescind any 11th hour pardons by Bush?

A president's power to pardon is absolute (with the single exception that he or she may not pardon someone who has been impeached). Once the pardon is received by the person being pardoned, it's a done deal and no one can rescind it.

The question in the real estate scammer's case is whether the guy actually received the pardon, and what "receipt" means--does he need to have a hard copy in his hands? Will telephone notification serve? Bush changed his mind after the pardon was announced, but apparently it's not clear whether or how the pardon had been delivered to the recipient.

"Now there's a song parody with an extremely short shelf-life."

Twenty, twenty, twenty-three hours to go
I'm gonna be elated.

Get me to the Metro, get me to the show!
Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!
Before they close the door!
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, ooooohhhhhh

bush claims he doesn't worry what history will think and if we have learned anything about him over eight years, it is that he doesn't much give a f...k what you think either. I'm betting he'll go for it on the way out the door and give Scooter and La Ted a pardon. It would be so like him and certainly something Dick and Karl would encourage.

And why does Senator Murkowski think this is a valid use of the pardon? That is most disturbing to me. Stevens committed felonies...these weren't political snipings, and the conviction not politically motivated; a cause that might engender a pardon.

That she feels corruption is pardonable says a lot about her character.

If Bush is mindful of his "legacy," does he really want his last act as president to be a "get out of jail free" card to a politician who flagrantly violated the public trust?

Absolutely- it'd only be par for the course.

-Z

"...left the Senate in disgrace..."

Excuse me. Were we watching the same senate send off...cheering and applauding the 7 count felony exit...with Harry Reid offering excuses about how Stevens was old school and just didn't know how to handle these things in the modern age of new technology. I'm surprised they didn't rend their clothes, weep and wail, though I suspect some of them did. The only thing these senators were sad about is that he got busted, not that he did wrong. Hell, he'd been doing that for nearly half a century with his earmark parade. All opf his property should be confiscated and sold by the state. This is not an honorable man but a corrupt mean old bastard he didn't get 1/10th of what he had coming...but "leaving the senate in disgrace" certainly wasn't what happened. The senate acted as if the public should be disgraced for convicting him. Just pathetic.