A president’s pardon power does not apply to local or state laws, only federal cases. GWB, for all his faults, and they are legion, had no authority to “pardon” DeLay, and DeLay would have had to admit “guilt” to receive a pardon. I still think that GWB is responsible for the election of his successor, and I will not read GWB’s memoirs.
One way or another W. could have stopped the persecution of Tom DeLay. The fact that he didn’t is intolerable and leaves me with zero respect for W.