As Mike Huckabee draws heat from conservative bloggers for commuting the sentence of suspected cop-killer Maurice Clemmons, a prominent right wing pundit is defending the former Arkansas governor. Fox News host Bill O'Reilly, interviewing Huckabee on his show last night, said, "It's not your fault, Governor. I mean, look, you've got 1,200 of these cases a year. You gotta look at them. I'm not saying it's your fault. I don't think anyone watching thinks it's your fault."

O'Reilly's words come after Huckabee has taken a battering from conservative bloggers such as Michelle Malkin for granting clemency to Clemmons, who was shot and killed by police on Tuesday. On Sunday, Malkin said, "The man being sought by police was granted clemency by former GOP Arkansas Mike Huckabee despite his violent history and vehement protestations from prosecutors and victims' family members ...This disaster is just one of Huckabee's ill-considered clemency legacies."

Malkin dug deeper saying, "This isn't Huckabee's first Horton moment," referring to a damaging controversy involving Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis and a convicted murderer who raped a woman during a furlough program supported by Dukakis. Despite the right wing criticism, O'Reilly pardoned Huckabee and thanked him for "being a stand-up guy." (video below)

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John Hudson