Swami:
I heard "Big Jim" Thompson asked George Bush to pardon George Ryan. I would like you to predict when, not if, this is going to happen, because we all know it's going to happen.
Cynical Sam
Dear Sam-ala:
You are obviously a very practical man, not wasting your time with such foolish things as possibilities in a situation that is all about probability. You've noticed that we live in a post-Nixon world where Executive Clemency has become the democratic version of royal fiat, and everyone from Marc Rich to Scooter Libby can fly away as free as the proverbial bird, all at the wave of a politically aligned hand.
And now to your question: When will the 74-year-old Ryan be freed from breaking rocks at the federal white-collar prison in Terre Haute, Ind.? The Swami foresees ... that Lura Lynn can start making plans to set an extra plate at the Thanksgiving table.
That would be three weeks after Election Day, when all bets are off for a lame duck.
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