The politics of clemencies and pardons in Campaign 2008

I often lament that sentencing issues have not been significant political issues of late, especially because the shifting focus to Ohio and Texas should justify some discussion of death and dollars in the two leading execution states.  Fortunately, folks interested in Campaign 2008 and clemency issues should be sure to check out Pardon Power, where one can find these notable recent posts:

• Campaign 08: Pardoned by Bill. Campaigning for Hillary
• Campaign 08: Whitewater Pardon Revisited
• Campaign 08: Hillary Bombs Again!

Of course, it is not only Democrats with some pardon baggage.  Today I saw for the first time the cool political button pictured here, which parodies President Bush's commutation of Scooter Libby's prison sentence. 

Whether the issue is the Libby commutation, or Bill Clinton's ugly clemency record, or the calls for a commutation for the former Border Agents now serving long prison terms, I suspect that clemency issues will get some real traction at some point in the 2008 campaign.  Exactly when and by whom the issue gets raised will be interesting to watch.