December 27, 2007

Compare and Contrast

Given that the Democratic Party is on the verge of asking America to replace President George. W. Bush with Hillary Clinton, it's worth comparing who Bush pardons with who Clinton's husband Bill pardoned when the pair occupied the White House before.

Bush pardons little-known people of run-of-the-mill offenses who have long since straightened up their lives. The Clintons pardoned: corrupt political hacks (ex-Congressman Dan Rostenkowski, and former Clinton aide Susan McDougal, pardoned for her crime of refusing to testify - against Clinton - in the Whitewater investigation), wealthy political benefactors (Marc Rich), and crooks who paid big money to Hillary Clinton's brothers. Clinton also commuted the sentences of a group of murdering terrorists - the FALN - responsible for more than 100 bombings across the U.S. in the 1970s between 1974 and 1983, along with Clinton's drug-addicted half-brother, and ex-Illinois Congressman Melvin Reynolds, who had been convicted of bank fraud, 12 counts of sexual assault - on a 16-year-old girl - not to mention obstruction of justice, and solicitation of child pornography.

Given the Clintons' track record, I would anticipate a Hillary presidency resulting in a pardon for Norman Hsu.