How About A Pardon?

Today was the final day of the Clinton administration. Tomorrow George W. Bush will take office. As has been the case with every president since the beginning of this country, President Clinton took his last day in office to issue pardons to several individuals, a total of over 140. Among those who received pardons were Patty Hearst, former Arizona governor Fife Symmington, and his brother Roger Clinton. There were 2 names that were obviously absent from the list, Shoeless Joe Jackson and Pete Rose. It was obvious from this omission that President Clinton does not believe these two have a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame nor as regular citizens. These two players are on a list which banishes them from baseball for life making them ineligible for consideration for the Hall of Fame. I have a hard time believing that these cases were not heard by the president and overturned. Granted, Pete Rose did accept his punishment voluntarily and he did bet on baseball so from a traditionalist standpoint, perhaps the evidence against Mr. Rose was more than even the president could withstand thereby forcing President Clinton's hand into upholding the ruling against Charlie Hustle. What I cannot understand is his lack of respect for Shoeless Joe Jackson. Even the Chicago courts in 1919 could not convict Jackson, especially after the numbers he put up during the World Series. How can someone possibly be throwing a World Series when he hits .375 in 8 games with 3 doubles, a home run and 6 runs batted in? I cannot fathom how President Clinton did not pardon Joe and insist that Major League Baseball place his name on the Hall of Fame ballot. It is a travesty! My only hope is that with George W. Bush in the White House that baseball players will once again be pardoned so that they can once again be recognized for their accomplishments on and off the field.