Most outgoing Presidents do a flurry of commutes and pardons before leaving office. It's nothing new and crosses party lines.
Apparently Presidents have the legal power to commute or pardon anyone they want, for any reason at all (kind of like how they can fire AGs at will without having to give a reason).
Having the power doesn't excuse using it. I'm a closet Bushboi, but I don't agree with the lame reasoning he gave. IMHO no reason at all is better than the one he gave. If he wants to save the fall guy, he might as well have just pardoned him.
I voted Clinton into office via Perot for one reason: Sr's 'read my lips'. I'm probably going to end up voting Hillbama into office by voting for whatever Independant runs.
Junior should have commuted Paris Hilton...now that would have been fun and made just as much sense to me.
~Fury, average Joe lacking the finesse to get into OC political arguments. All IMHO based on my news input from: CNN, FoxNews, MSNBC, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and The O' Club.
[edit: courtesy CNN because I'm too lazy to do my own research]
PARDONS AND COMMUTATIONS
George W. Bush (2001 - )
Pardons -- 13
Commutations -- 4
Bill Clinton (1993-2001)
Pardons -- 396
Commutations -- 61
George H.W. Bush (1989-1993)
Pardons -- 74
Commutations: 3
Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)
Pardons -- 393
Commutations -- 13
Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)
Pardons -- 534
Commutations -- 29
Gerald Ford (1974-1977)
Pardons -- 382
Commutations -- 22
Richard Nixon (1969-1974)
Pardons -- 863
Commutations -- 60
Lyndon Johnson (1963-1969)
Pardons -- 960
Commutations -- 226
John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)
Pardons -- 472
Commutations -- 100
Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961)
Pardons -- 1,110
Commutations -- 47
Harry Truman (1945-1953)
Pardons -- 1,913
Commutations -- 118