Reply #38: And who will pardon Bush? Not the American people [View All]

[MikeNY]

You are both probably right that the President's power to pardon is unrestrained. I feel though, that in this case, and most cases, we need to look into the origins of this power and discuss why exactly it was created in the first place. The ability to pardon was not put into the law so that the President could get all of his friends out of jail when his administration is going down the tubes. More likely, in my opinion, it was put there in cases where the courts have been compromised and the will of the people has not been served. Another check in that great system of checks and balances, if you will (with so much of our government relying heavily on the court system for regulation). The President is supposed to be a person of great moral character and leadership; not someone who abuses his authority to get what he wants 90% of the time. I think Bush would be making a huge mistake to abuse that power, if he did, esp. with his approval rating so low.