Should the president's right to issue pardons be limited? [View All]

[Cyrano]

The U.S. Constitution: Article II, Section 2. "The President ... shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment."

Does anyone doubt that before George W. Bush leaves office, he will pardon Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove, and every other person involved in the criminal conspiracy that has held rule for the past six years?

George Bush Sr. did it. So did Bill Clinton. However, when do crimes against our country and humanity become so obscene as to be beyond redemption?

Over the past two hundred plus years, virtually every president has used this clause in the constitution to pardon the deeds of some friend, crony or criminal. It's a clause of our constitution that is ripe for abuse, as Gerald Ford showed us when he pardoned Richard Nixon.

But the question in the above headline remains. Do we really want the man who currently occupies the Oval Office to have this power? By virtually any definition, from the Bible, to the Greeks, to the Romans, to Shakespeare, to today, George Bush, and of course Dick Cheney, are as vile as any historic villains.

Do you think we should amend the constitution to eliminate, or at least limit, the presidential right of pardon?