[Czar]

Mr. Stubborn held off just as long as he could, didn't he. And rather than grant a full pardon, he granted a commutation: (1) just to make certain these two guys would remain felons for the rest of their lives, and (2) to remove any doubt that he might have been wrong from the start and was now merely being "fair".

What a crock.

[Iron Munro]

And rather than grant a full pardon, he granted a commutation

WHERE IS THE COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATIVE???

To me the most petty aspect of the president's action is the fact that he didn't commute their sentence to time served so they could be released immediately.

They won't be released until March 20 and they still have to serve three-year terms of supervised release and they still have to pay the fines that were a part of their sentences.

The president just couldn't bring himself to do the 100% right thing for these two persecuted men. Some compassion.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j6mH44rWD9yyZf_AZ7YxQDVFL7WwD95QGVU80

"Under the terms of Bush's commutation, their prison sentences will expire on March 20, but their three-year terms of supervised release and the fines will remain intact."

"During his presidency, Bush has granted a total of 189 pardons and 11 commutations. That's fewer than half as many as Presidents Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan issued during their two-term tenures. Bush technically has until noon on Tuesday when President-elect Barack Obama is sworn into office to exercise his executive pardon authority, but presidential advisers said no more were forthcoming."

Clinton issued a total of 457 pardons or commutations in eight years in office. Bush's father, George H. W. Bush, issued 77 in four years. Reagan issued 406 in eight years, and President Jimmy Carter issued 563 in four years. Since World War II, the largest number of pardons and commutations — 2,031 — came from President Harry Truman, who served 82 days short of eight years.