<We are talking about when he was in office and trading political favors and pardons for campaign contributions.

What political favors did he need his last day in office? His pardoning Rich was a dumb move because it gave his enemies a chance to hit him one more time going out the door, but if you look at the actual facts in the case the Rich pardon was not totally out of line.

Clarence Thomas. Newt Gingrich. Ronald Reagan and Iran-Contra. Among others. But hey, since Republicans are by nature evil, nothing you do to them counts as "smearing."

Certainly smear campaigns but nothing on the level of what Clinton was subjected to. The GOP changed the rules with Clinton by going after his private life.