“At a time when his popularity is as low as any president's in modern history, Bush's action also defied public opinion. Shortly after Libby was convicted in March, three national public opinion polls found that seven in 10 Americans said they would oppose a pardon of Libby.”
–The Washington Post, 7/3/07

Given that President Bush did NOT pardon Scooter Libby and a commutation is not a pardon, exactly how did President Bush “defy public opinion”?