E&P: Gallup: Public Has Opposed High-Profile Presidential Pardons

[DeepModem Mom]

Editor&Publisher: GALLUP: Public Has Opposed High-Profile Presidential Pardons
By E&P Staff
Published: March 09, 2007

NEW YORK Calls have been ringing out from some editorial pages and from many conservatives callng on President George W. Bush to pardon Lewis "Scooter" Libby, convicted Tuesday on charges of perjury, obstruction of justice, and making false statements to federal investigators. But the Gallup organization reported today that its data "indicates that the public has generally opposed high-profile presidential pardons in the recent past."

Americans immediately opposed high-profile pardons issued by Gerald Ford (Richard Nixon) by 53% to 38%, George H. W. Bush (Caspar Weinberger) by 54% to 27%, and Bill Clinton (financier Marc Rich) by 62% to 20%.

"This opposition to the pardons had an immediate impact on the public's overall assessment of Ford and Clinton," Gallup explains. "Ford's job approval ratings fell sharply and Clinton's favorable ratings fell dramatically in the short term. On the other hand, Bush's ratings actually improved after his pardon of Weinberger. The current president Bush, whose job approval rating is at 33% -- including a 9% rating among Democrats -- doesn't have a lot to lose in the court of public opinion, but history suggests that the public's initial reaction to the pardon itself is highly likely to be negative."

Gallup concludes: "History suggests that a pardon of Libby by President Bush will most likely be greeted by an immediately negative reaction. This conclusion is bolstered by a review of existing evidence on the public's perception of this case since Libby's indictment in 2005, most of which shows that Americans were predisposed to believe that Libby was guilty from the start." But it added: "A pardon might actually bolster Bush's standing among Republicans, resulting in an overall net positive impact."

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003556406

[kestrel91316]

1. Hm. Somehow I suspect that..........

Bush won't give a goddamned rat's patootie about this:

"History suggests that a pardon of Libby by President Bush will most likely be greeted by an immediately negative reaction."

Remember kids: he's The Decider.

[onehandle]

2. He won't.

Libby's team will drag out this process to the end of Bush's term and then he'll pardon him.

Libby will never see a jail cell.

And then Libby writes a book (being written now I'd bet) and speaks for 25k a pop for years.

[kenny blankenship]

3. Also he's down to the fascist 29% who would follow him into the watch towers of Auschwitz

--to serve him as guards and captors over his enemies.

There's nothing he could do to alienate the red backwash. Contempt for law is what they love him for in the first place. What's he got to lose?

[bemildred]

4. "tough on crime" only applies to the underclasses.

If you are a member of the ruling elites you get as many strikes as you can afford.

[DemoTex]

5. Bu$h to public:

[Vidar]

6. This call for another conversation with whatever demon George

calls God & a signing statement or two.