I agree with much of what Rich Lowry has to say on the subject. A snippet:
The Founders created the pardon power to grant relief from a justice system that might, in the words of Alexander Hamilton, be “too sanguinary and cruel.” It doesn’t serve that function so much anymore, but has turned out to be a safety valve in an era when each party criminalizes political disputes when it suits its purposes.***
[E]xcept for the most blatant crimes, the political arena is the best forum for politically controversial charges of wrongdoing.
Like most who favor the war in Iraq, Lowry dismisses Libby's crimes and blames the 'left' for hypocritical concerns about the rule of law. What of those on the right who still think that lying to the FBI and a Grand Jury--in a way that Patrick Fitzgerald called, "kicking sand in the eyes of the investigators"--amounted to a serious offense? The argument that, if it's about politics--and political payback--it can't be a crime, is laughable. As Pat Buchanan points out in his latest column, Bush's actions likely resulted from a threat that Libby would start to sing if he spent a day in prison.
Can we at least give Congress an override an pardons, the same as we do with vetoes? Then at least they could all be held to account.