Bush pardons moonshiner with his purty, purty mouth...

This is easily the best story in the news today. Our fearless leader has pardoned 17 criminals for minor crimes, including Randall Leece Deal, a Sheriff's Department employee from Raburn County, Georgia who had a bit part in the 1972 Georgia travelogue Deliverance. Apparently Mr. Deal had a slight run-in with the law in the early 1960s, with charges in connection to moonshining. The money quote from the CNN article:

Deal's "Deliverance" performance consisted of a single line: "It ain't nothing but the biggest [expletive] river in the state!" For the record, Deal did not play one of the surly locals involved in an infamous rape scene with actor Ned Beatty.

Well, of course he didn't. I mean, I can understand Bush being willing to forgive youthful indiscretions involving booze, but associating himself with forgiveness for the "squeal like a pig" guy might not sit so well with his base. (Yes, I'm aware that it was just a film - but are they?)

For more information about the severity of the crime, let's hear from Mr. Deal himself:

Moonshining was a common practice in the South in the 1960s, Deal said. He also pointed out that he was not in it for the money, but was more interested in the fun and comaraderie of the enterprise.

"I was just helping some friends back then," he said. "It was really just more like a game than anything, to be honest with you. It wasn't a big business deal, fiddling with moonshine. At least to me it wasn't."

I'm sure that will be a successful defense for your average inner-city drug dealer as well. "Hey! What's the big deal? Everyone's doing it! I was just helping out a buddy! It's just for laughs!"

Hmm... Why do I suspect that won't wash?

UPDATE: For those of you unfamiliar with Deliverance, an abbreviated musical version has been posted over at the Axis of the Really Annoying.