Jacob Sullum on Obama's Amazingly Stingy Clemency Record

Will Barack Obama go down in history as our least merciful president? With less than two weeks to go in his first term, says Senior Editor Jacob Sullum, this reputedly progressive and enlightened man has a strong shot at winning that dubious distinction. Barring a last-minute flurry of pardons and commutations, Sullum writes, Obama's first-term clemency record looks weaker than those of all but a few previous presidents.