A lot of spelunking remains to be done into former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour's pardons, but if they prove to be arbitrary, insensitive or even illegal, there will be collateral damage, and not just in Mississippi. Barbour risks giving executive pardons an even worse name than they have now.

From Richard Nixon to Marc Rich, pardon recipients are often well connected. Even garden-variety recipients of clemency are, by definition, criminals, and thus not particularly attractive to the public. (The exception are those who were exonerated.) Presidents and governors know this, and tend to be too parsimonious in granting pardons and commutations.

Barbour hasn't helped himself, at least in the North,  by explaining that he wanted the beneficiaries of his clemency to be able to "find gainful employment or acquire professional licenses as well as hunt and vote" (italics added). And the apparent failure to satisfy public-notice requirements suggests that the  process was rushed and slovenly. But it would be regrettable if "Boss Hogg" became the personification of the pardon power. 

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--Michael McGough

Photo: Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour is seen on Sept. 28, 2010. Credit: Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty Images