Al Gore: A Pardon Power Tribute

In honor of his recent award, I thought I would pay tribute to former Vice-President Al Gore in this post. In a July 5, Today Show "exclusive," One on One with Al Gore, Gore had this to say about President Bush's commutation of the sentence of Scooter Libby:

Well, I thought it was very disappointing ... Well, I thought it was improper. He is charged with having knowledge that could incriminate his bosses in the White House which included the vice president and the president. I thought it was very disappointing.

The obvious question leaps out at you, does it not? If Bush's much anticipated commutation of sentence "disappointed" Mr. Gore, then how on earth did he feel about Bill Clinton's completely unexpected, last-minute, full and unconditional pardon bonanza? Has Gore ever commented at all on that? Has anyone in the media ever even bothered to ask him about it? Host Meredith Vieira stepped up to the plate, asking Gore how the Libby commutation was any different than Clinton's shenanigans? Gore responded:

Well it’s different because in this case the person involved is charged with activities that involve knowledge of what his superiors in the White House did.

Activities that involve knowledge of what his superiors did? Seems like there is a missing word in there somewhere ... hmmm ... oh! yes! ILLEGAL. Lest we forget, no one was ever punished for the supposed "leak" of a covert CIA agent's identity. Indeed, no one was ever even charged with such a crime. Meanwhile, Gore might compare talking points with CNN, which provided this commentary on Susan McDougal, who was pardoned by Clinton:

Susan McDougal refused to answer three questions from Whitewater prosecutors before the grand jury empaneled by Independent Counsel Ken Starr to investigate Whitewater in September 1996, citing concerns about possible perjury charges down the road ... The questions prosecutors asked McDougal included whether President Bill Clinton lied in his testimony during her Whitewater trial, particularly when he denied any knowledge of the illegal $300,000 loan ... McDougal also took the stand in her defense, finally answering the questions that cost her 18 months in jail. She testified that Clinton, as far as she knows, testified truthfully in 1996 about the Whitewater land deal. She also said that she never spoke with Clinton about the fraudulent $300,000 Small Business Administration loan taken out by McDougal that David Hale alleged Clinton pressured Hale to make.

Congratulations on the prize, Mr. Gore!