President Obama has granted nine pardons, the first of his presidency. Four people who received light sentences for low level cocaine offenses, none of whom are now in prison, got pardons.

Four of the cases involve people convicted of possessing cocaine who were given sentences that the president deemed excessive.

Is the President clueless as to the draconian sentences being served today by drug offenders? Here are the sentences he deemed excessive and deserving of a pardon -- all completed a long time ago.

• Roxane Kay Hettinger, Powder Springs, Ga., sentenced in 1986 to 30 days in jail and three years of probation for conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

• Timothy James Gallagher of Navasota, Texas, sentenced in 1982 to three years of probation for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine.

• Floretta Leavy of Rockford, Ill., who was sentenced to a year and a day in prison in Kansas in 1984 on a drug-possession conviction.

• Edgar Leopold Kranz Jr. of Minot, N.D., who received 24 months of confinement and a reduction in pay for wrongful use of cocaine, adultery and writing bounced checks.

Really, really disappointing.

Restaurateur Elaine Kaufman, owner of the famous Elaine's on the Upper East side, passed away today at age 81. Here are some
photos of her with a number of her famous clientele.

Until she was hospitalized last month, Kaufman worked every day of the week, greeting patrons at the door and leaving at closing time in the wee hours of the morning. "I live at the restaurant, I entertain at the restaurant," Kaufman told The Post in a 2009 interview.

I always liked eating and drinking at Elaine's. She was a great hostess and very nice to me. I haven't been there in almost a decade, but I remember her vividly. R.I.P. Elaine, and thank you.

Elaine's will remain open with the staff "fully intact."

Former U.S. District Court Judge Jack Camp is in the news again. The feds are probing whether he sentenced African American defendants more harshly because of alleged racial bias. Some defendants may either be resentenced or get a new trial.

Judge Camp is awaiting sentencing on his misdemenor guilty pleas. Background here.

If you enjoy good intelligent discussion of issues that looks at things from many ideological perspectives, I recommend Outside The Beltway. Here are 2 representative pieces - the first by James Joyner and the second by Prof. Steven Taylor - discussing the the Repeal Amendment and the role of States under the Constitution.

I'm on trial next week so I'll be going dark after today.

Open Thread.

Update: (TL): I'll be at the jail today, but should be around this weekend and next week while BTD is in trial. Good luck, BTD.

President Obmama went to Afghanistan today where he is meeting with President Hamid Karzai and will visit the troops.

Bump and Update: Four relatives of Bunny Mellon are at the federal courthouse in Raleigh, NC where the grand jury investigating John Edwards' campaign finances is meeting:

Sources told WRAL News that Stacy Lloyd III, the son of heiress Rachel "Bunny" Mellon; his two sons, Stacy Lloyd IV and Thomas Lloyd; and Thomas Lloyd's wife, Ricki Lloyd, were called to testify before the grand jury.

The FBI has already spoken to Bunny Mellon, having made two trips to her farm. Her lawyer, Alexander Forger, said months ago he testified before the grand jury and said Edwards did nothing wrong.

Why is this heating up now? Perhaps because Republican U.S. Attorney George Holding, who reportedly is not leaving the office to make way for Obama's nominee Thomas Walker, until he's done with Edwards' investigation, has more time on his hands having finally concluded the investigation of former Gov. Mike Easley (which ended with a whimper rather than a bang). [More..]

Maybe someone should do something:

In a jolting surprise to the economic recovery and market expectations, the United States economy added just 39,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent, according to the Department of Labor. November’s numbers were far below the consensus forecast of close to 150,000 jobs added and an unchanged unemployment rate of 9.6 percent.

My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub. - Grover Norquist

This December, the federal government is preparing to extend the Bush tax cuts and take up recommendations to reduce the deficit by way of the Catfood Commission.

This only makes sense if you ascribe to the views of Grover Norquist and want to eventually drown the government in a bathtub. The failure to connect fiscal policy with tax policy has been a glaring failure of the Beltway and its bloggers.

An amazing end to the first two years of the Obama Presidency.

Speaking for me only

The World Cup is going to Qatar.

LeBron returns to Cleveland tonight.

Open Thread.

[Democrats want to] raise taxes on just a small number of people, most of whom live on Wall Street in New York. - Republican Senator Lamar Alexander

Via atrios, Media Matters captures GOP Senator Lamar Alexander accusing Dem New York Senator Charles Schumer of blocking tax cuts for Wall Street:

If the Democratic Party was competent, they would run with this. They aren't and they won't.

Speaking for me only

In my earlier discussion of Wikileaks (stating my disagreement with Ezra Klein), I neglected to discuss "why Wikileaks?" When I say why, I mean why would leakers choose Wikileaks as their publisher rather than a mainstream press organ. The reason is the lack of trust the Media has earned by its performance of the last 20 years.

Via mistermix of Balloon Juice, Jay Rosen hits this point very well. mistermix summarizes:

For much of the Obama Administration, some have defended its actions by arguing that you need 60 votes in the Senate to do anything. Whatever the merits of that argument, it surely does not apply with regard to the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, which merely requires Obama's resolve on the matter.

That resolve appears to be lacking and it seems we will be soon seeing a headline that reads "Obama Extends Bush Tax Cuts." One of the points I have consistently attempted to make is that demonstrating resolve is essential in a negotiation. Today, E.J. Dionne writes: