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I don't love it either, but I'm not sure how you tell a man that he should let his only surviving son rot in prison to respect norms, institutions, and the rule of law, when the country you devoted your life to serving just pretty comprehensively voted they don't give a shit about any of that.

Nah, I’m afraid this is crazy from Biden. Of course on a personal level it’s understandable. But it’s otherwise disastrous.

Disastrous how? Spell it out for me. The public just voted for a guy running on the explicit promise he is going to pardon himself and the goons who stormed the capital on January 6th. What intact norm has Biden weakened here?

The norm that you shouldn’t do it. He’s weakened it, perhaps fatally, because now neither side is resisting the descent.

Yes, very real chance that future Democratic Presidents on their way out of office also pardon their children for non-violent offences. The Republic hath fallen.

Don’t be silly, I’m not making a difficult claim. If you want to protect a democratic norm then it makes a big difference whether one party continues to respect it or both give up on it (however different the specifics).

I’m perfectly relaxed thanks. 😂 Kid yourself all you want. If both parties are at it then you end up in a worse place. Not complicated.

If your point is an abstract philosophical one then I agree with you. As I said in the OP, I don't love that this happened. If your point is that this will have any kind of practical impact in shaping how either party, or voters act in the future, then I strongly disagree.