It's been awhile since the presidential pardon enjoyed such heated attention. Just the thought of President Bush issuing a pardon for Lewis "Scooter" Libby has bloggers and pundits from both sides of the political spectrum pounding their keyboards and roaring. But as TIME magazine reminds us, this is far from the first time that an act of forgiveness by the big guy in the Oval Office has created a brouhaha. Should Libby get word that he's off the hook, he will join such charged characters in the annals of U.S. history as the citizens of Confederate states, draft dodgers from the Vietnam War, two FBI agents, one legendary chief of the Teamsters union, and the current owner of the New York Yankees. Of course, President Clinton's unforgettable "eleventh-hour" move for Marc Rich makes the list of infamous acts. And the party couldn't even get started without the one guy to both pardon and be pardoned, Richard Nixon.
