Does it matter less if he's pardoned from probation rather than from prison?

Former chief of staff to American Vice President "I'm a Big" Dick Cheney, I. Louis "Scooter" Libby thinks that the special prosecutor who oversaw his conviction for obstruction of justice is asking too much in demanding a prison sentence and instead believes that he should only be given probation and, if necessary, community service. After all, the American people are clearly being unreasonable if they have an expectation that their public officials, whose wages they pay, should be required to tell the truth.