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Should the President Pardon Libby?
June 6, 2007




The Washington Post is running an article entitled, "In the West Wing,
Pardon is A Topic Too Sensitive to Mention."

The article begins, "The sentence imposed on former White House
aide I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby yesterday put President Bush in the
position of making a decision he has tried to avoid for months: Trigger
a fresh political storm by pardoning a convicted perjurer or let one of
the early architects of his administration head to prison."

The article further reports, "..Some White House advisers said the
president's political troubles are already so deep that a pardon might
not be so damaging. Those most upset by the CIA leak case that led to
the Libby conviction already oppose Bush, they noted. 'You can't hang
a man twice for the same crime,' a Republican close to the White
House said.

Read the Article!!

Discussion Starters for Younger Children

  • Ask your students what the words, "I'm sorry," mean.  Do
    your students think that it's sometimes possible for somebody
    to say these words without really meaning them?  Why/why
    not?
  • Consider asking students to write the word "SORRY"
    across the top of a piece of paper.  Then use each of the
    letters in the word as the first letter of another word to
    be written down the paper.
  
  • Ask your students if they've ever forgiven somebody for doing
    something wrong to them.  What did the person do?  Do your
    students think that everybody should be forgiven if they mean it
    when they say, "I'm sorry."  Why/why not?
  • Consider asking students to write a few sentences in
    response to this question.
  
  • Ask your students why they think it is wrong to lie.  Ask your
    students if they've ever said something that hurt somebody
    else's feelings.  Why did they say this?  Would they say the
    same thing again?  Why/why not?
  • Do your students think that it's sometimes better for
    people to say nothing?  Consider asking them to draw a
    picture of somebody choosing not to say something.
  
  • Do your child(ren) think that adults sometimes have to say,
    "I'm sorry?"  Do your child(ren) think that it would be hard for
    an adult to say, "I'm sorry?"  Why/why not?
  • Consider asking students to develop a skit in which
    somebody apologizes for something.

Discussion-Starters for Older Students

  • Vocabulary terms to discuss: "West Wing"; Perjurer; "Political
    Price"; and, "Process Crimes."

  • If your students were President Bush's political advisors would
    they advise the President to pardon I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby?  
    Why/why not?
  • Consider asking students to write a memo to President
    Bush in which they share their opinions on this question.

  • If somebody has led an exemplary life, including a great deal of
    public service, and does something wrong, should their
    punishment be less severe than somebody who has not done
    public service and does the same thing wrong?  Why/why not?
  • These questions might prompt an interesting class
    discussion.
   
  • Do your students think that the President of the United States
    should be allowed to pardon people convicted of crimes?  
    Why/why not?
  • Consider asking students to demonstrate in an art
    project what effects presidential pardons might have on
    society, if any.  For this art project, simply ask students
    to tear and glue paper together in order to make an
    image.  Students should not write or cut.  After students
    have created their projects, provide them with time to
    share them with classmates.
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(C) 2007, Andrew Pass Educational Services, LLC.