The following was post as a comment on Plains Radio website:
YOU BE THE JUDGE….THIS MAKES ME PROUD TO BE A REPUBLICAN!!!!!!!!
1. Outgoing President George W. Bush quietly boards his helicopter and leaves for Texas, commenting only: “Today is not about me. Today is a historical day for our nation and people.”
Eight years ago the day of the inauguration:
1. Outgoing President Bill Clinton schedules two separate radio addresses to the nation, and organizes a public farewell speech/ rally in downtown Washington D.C. scheduled to directly conflict with incoming President Bush’s inauguration ceremony.
Yesterday:
2. President Bush leaves office without issuing a single Presidential pardon, only granting a commutation of sentence to two former border patrol agents convicted of shooting a convicted drug smuggler. He does not grant any type of clemency to Scooter Libby or any other former political aide, ally, or business partner.
Eight years ago yesterday:
2. President Clinton issues 140 pardons and several commutations of sentence on his final day in office. Included in these are: billionaire financier, convicted tax evader, and leading Democratic campaign contributor Marc Rich; Whitwater scandal figure Susan McDougal; Congressional Post Office Scandal figure and former Democratic Congressman Dan Rostenkowski; convicted bank fraud, sexual assault and child porn perpetrator and former Democratic Congressman Melvin Reynolds; and convicted drug felon Roger Clinton, the President’s half-brother.
Yesterday:
3. The Bush daughters leave gift baskets in the White House bedrooms for the Obama daughters, containing flowers, candy, stuffed animals, DVD’s and CD’s, and heartfelt notes of encouragement and advice for the young girls on how to prepare for their new lives in the White House.
Eight years ago Yesterday:
3. Clinton and Gore staffers rip computer wires and electrical outlets from the White House walls, stuff piles of notebook papers into the White House toilets, systematically remove the letter “W” from every computer key-pad in the entire White House, and damage several thousand dollars worth of furniture in the White House master bedroom.
Eight years
Headlines On This Date 4 Years Ago:
“Republicans spending $42 million on inauguration while troops Die in unarmored Humvees”
“Bush extravagance exceeds any reason during tough economic times”
“Fat cats get their $42 million inauguration party, Ordinary Americans get the shaft”
Headlines Today:
“Historic Obama Inauguration will cost only $170 million”
“Obama Spends $170 million on inauguration; America Needs A Big Party”
“Everyman Obama shows America how to celebrate”
“Citibank executives contribute $8 million to Obama Inauguration”
10 comments
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February 1, 2009 at 3:12 am
josiahe
Actually, President Bush gave pardons the day before . . . . not as offensive as Clinton’s but still pretty poor.
He could have . . . should have, pardoned Jonathan Pollard and should have!
But the commutation was COOL!
February 1, 2009 at 9:47 am
JAMES
Who did the President pardon the day before he left the White House? He commuted the sentences of the two border patrol agents, but I don’t know who he pardoned.
February 1, 2009 at 11:40 am
Interested Bystander
josiahe,
Here is an article that is on this subject.
Maybe you’d like to take back your comment.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/orl-bush-pardons-012709,0,4509568.story
In my opinion the most interesting paragraph of this article is this:
“During the Bush administration, 2,498 pardon and 8,573 commutation applications were submitted, Rodgers told Tribune today. Bush granted 189 pardons and 11 commutations, and denied 1,729 pardon applications and 7,498 commutation applications. Additionally, 464 pardon applications and 2,222 commutation applications were closed administratively without Presidential action, Rodgers said.”
200 TOTAL pardons and commutations out of 11,071 seems to me to be pretty low.
February 1, 2009 at 11:44 am
JAMES
OK, I stand corrected– and send a correction to where I took it from. How many of those pardons were issued as he walked out the door, as Clinton did? Either way, his record held the number o a minimum.
February 1, 2009 at 11:41 am
Interested Bystander
Here is a total list of those Bush pardoned:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_pardoned_by_George_W._Bush
February 1, 2009 at 11:57 am
josiah
I should withdraw my comment?
And why?
February 2, 2009 at 6:35 am
Interested Bystander
josiah,
Bush did not pardon anyone on his last day in office.
That’s why you should take back your comment.
A commutation is not a pardon. The convictions stand, all Bush did was lower the Border guards sentence.
JAMES,
No correction necessary.
Here’s an article which title misrepresents what Bush did the last day in office, but is truthful in article. Kind of reminds me of the last eight years:
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090120/NEWS02/701209818/1068/NEWS05
February 2, 2009 at 7:57 am
josiah
“Interested Bystander” needs to figure out how to read these posted comments; that’s all. If he figures it out, what I actually said, we’ll all have less nit-picking.
February 2, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Interested Bystander
josiah,
Ok, here’s what you posted:
“Actually, President Bush gave pardons the day before . . . . not as offensive as Clinton’s but still pretty poor.”
You commented that Bush “pardons” the day before and “not as offensive”.
Bush did not pardon one person the “day before”, and not “pretty poor”, because he didn’t pardon ANYONE.
Then you comment:
“But the commutation was COOL!”
Now I’m figuring you’re commenting on the two border guards. Am I correct in this assumption?
Those were the ONLY actions Bush took concerning pardons and commutations the day before he left office, so how could you not be referring to them?
I believe JAMES took my post wrong, because you stated the above, and I just simply corrected you, and JAMES felt I was commenting that Bush had pardoned people the day before he left office.
Bush didn’t, you stated he did, and you my friend were wrong. JAMES was right all along.
I can read just fine, thank you.
Maybe you could “explain” yourself a little better next time.
February 14, 2009 at 12:54 am
KLD
About those inauguration costs; here’s the real deal from About.com (http://twirl.at/Vf):
Here’s what’s true in the above text: G.W. Bush received more criticism — mainly from Congressional Democrats, but also from some members of the press — for the “extravagant” cost of his inauguration in 2005 than Barack Obama received for the cost of his in 2009.
The figures cited above are inaccurate and misleading, however. The $42 million cited for Bush, while roughly accurate, doesn’t include the cost of security and other incidentals covered by federal and state governments. The $120 million cited for Obama (which is actually a bit on the low side) does include those costs. It’s a false comparison.
Traditionally, everything except security, clean-up, and the swearing-in ceremony itself is paid for via private donations. By most estimates, the Bush inaugural committee raised and spent about $42.3 million. At last report, the Obama inaugural committee had raised and spent almost exactly the same amount (“more than $41 million,” according to the Associated Press).
Factoring in the rest of the expenditures, in 2005 federal and local governments were tapped for an additional $115 million to cover security, swearing-in, clean-up, and a paid holiday for federal workers on the day of the Bush inauguration. That adds up to a combined total of $157.8 million from both private and government sources.
There’s no final tally yet for the Obama inauguration, but given that at least five times as many people attended, security and clean-up costs were surely higher than for the 2005 event. Press estimates currently range around $150 million total, including both private and government expenditures.
Sources and further reading:
Inauguration Cost Could Top $150 Million
CNN Money, 19 January 2009
Obama Hosting Pricey Party in Dicey Economy
Associated Press, 17 January 2009
Obama’s Inauguration Fund-Raising Tops $24 Million
New York Times, 6 January 2009
Big Inauguration Comes with a Big Price Tag
CNN, 20 December 2008
The Second Inauguration of the Second President Bush
CBC News, 20 January 2005