ATLANTA, GA — I will have to look to others to be the judge of my reality here, but I try to be a well-mannered, southern gentleman, admittedly more than a bit old school in my day to day life and dealings with others.  There is still a good bit of sarcasm and to quote former Atlanta Mayor and U.N. Ambassador, Andy Young, more than a bit of ‘smart-ass white boy’ in me...but as a general rule, I try to live by the Golden Rule.

But let’s say, for sake of conversation, that I didn’t pay income taxes for a couple of years, while my income exceeded a few million dollars each of those years.  And let’s assume in this hypothetical that I am also a drug addict, who left the mother of my children and wife, to seduce and marry my brother’s widow, and that I traded on influence and family connections most of my life, becoming a felon and carrying unregistered firearms illegally... I am thinking that if I did all this, and dropped by the White House, that I would no longer be summering at the family beach house in Rehoboth.

Conversely, if I were to express my free speech rights by smashing windows, clubbing the head of some of New York’s finest and defecating in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York, or even the front lobby at Mar-a-Lago, I would expect to then be spending my winters and summers in a Florida state prison.

With neither set of offenses, and these are not equivalent, of the family, political allies and others pardoned on the last day of Joe Biden’s Presidency, or the near blanket commutations of sentencing of between 1200-1300 January 6, 2021 protestors at our U.S. Capitol...both Pardoners are guilty, at the very least, of poor judgment.

Yes, I do understand concerns for Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Congresswoman Liz Cheney and some of Donald Trump’s more vocal opponents.  Anyone done a wellness check this week on Mike Pence?  But does President Joe Biden think he will be the last Democrat to win the White House?  Does the now former President believe that his pardons are all that stands between his family and federal trials or prison sentences?

Let’s set aside, just for a moment, the repeated public promises and statements that Joe Biden would NOT pardon Hunter Biden, without even touching the 11th hour pardon of nearly his entire family, strangely and selectively back to the year 2014... Huh...Joe Biden was only Vice President at that time.

And to President Trump, you won the election, by a healthy Electoral College margin, carrying all seven battleground states.  The American people have placed their faith in you, and the job you again now hold is among the most challenging in the world.

Did you really think it smart to START this job with the conflicting signals of declaring a National State of Emergency at our southern border and commuting the sentence of the leader of the Proud Boys, currently serving a 22-year sentence for his role in planning and executing the attacks on our nation’s Capitol, and the peaceful transition of power via the certification of the votes of the Electoral College?

We all know that those of us who are regular folks, without political connections, or placing our life on the line after a disappointing political contest loss, would NOT be able to expect to have our slates wiped clean for much lesser offenses.  And yet, we will still pay parking and speeding tickets, drive the speed limit more often than not, and hopefully be good to our neighbors, despite examples from back to back leaders of the highest office in the land demonstrating that for THEM those rules do not necessarily apply.

Thankfully, there ARE limits to the power and reach of Presidential pardons, commutations and clemency.  They cannot overturn state court criminal convictions or sentencing, nor waive civil case judgments.  They cannot give pardons beyond the time of their term in office, other than blanket pardons for crimes not yet charged.  Do innocent people really NEED to be pardoned?  Do we need to re-scope or limit these powers to pardon?

I would also look out for my family, children and friends.  Politics has become, particularly at the national level, a blood sport of sorts.  But if we want that to change, we need to select leaders who lead by example, or act as servant leaders, not those who so clearly will take care of themselves and their First family before the rest of the nation.

Pardon me sirs... I think not.