Griffin Bell Dies

I guess it was no surprise when the news was reported today that former Attorney General Griffin Bell, 90, has passed away.

Bell served in President Carter's Cabinet as the nation's 72nd attorney general from 1977 to 1979. At the time he was nominated for the post, there was some controversy because of his Southern roots and the fact that he was a close friend of the president.

I always felt the controversy was unwarranted. Bobby Kennedy, after all, was the brother of the president who chose him to be attorney general — and he served with distinction.

And I guess I felt the criticism of Bell more keenly because I, too, grew up in the South — and Carter, as the first president from the Deep South since the Civil War, was often criticized by non-Southerners, even when such criticism was undeserved.

As it was in the case of Bell, who also served with distinction and left having restored respect to the office of the nation's highest-ranking law enforcement officer — a much-needed change after the tenure of John Mitchell.

Unfortunately, the job was held for many years by Ed Meese, who was involved in the Iran-Contra affair under Ronald Reagan, then by John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales under George W. Bush.

Barack Obama's nominee for attorney general, Eric Holder, is seen as an unsavory nominee by some for his role in expediting President Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich just before Clinton left office in 2001.

To his credit, however, Holder has expressed regret over the manner in which he handled Rich's pardon, and his legal career has been mostly dignified and responsible.

Hopefully, he will bring integrity back to the office of attorney general — the way Griffin Bell left it 30 years ago.