Merrick Garland takes a big step toward righting the ship

Let’s talk about Attorney General Merrick Garland. People are angry at Garland. I have even seen many calling for him to resign and Sally Yates to be installed as the new AG. Or Doug Jones. Or anyone.

Let me point out a few things. When Garland first stepped into this role, Palmer Report warned people not to put him on a pedestal. He is not perfect. None of us are. Nobody is right all the time.

I believe many have what I call “Mueller syndrome.” What is that? Hear me out.

We all elevated Mueller to perfection. We created a mirage of perfection in him, assigning him traits we had no idea if he had. I stress we all did this – including myself.

Mueller was going to save us, we all said excitedly. Mueller is our last great hope. Mueller is our hero. Mueller is Superman. Of course, he fell off his pedestal and fell hard. And now many are afraid to trust anybody in a position of power.

No one person can make everything OK. It takes a collection of people. But it makes sense why we did this with Mueller. We sought in him what we all desired to be true.

Now back to Garland. His speech today was powerful. He spoke passionately about voting rights.

He is planning to double the number of attorneys at the DOJ. And he called on Congress to pass voting rights legislation. Garland has an outstanding record of integrity, truth-telling, and courage.

He was a circuit court judge for years. His reputation was unblemished. He was invaluable in prosecuting Timothy McVeigh. He has a strong history of fighting domestic terrorism. President Obama nominated him for the Supreme Court.

Garland is not our enemy. He is not sitting huddled somewhere thinking, “How do I protect the former guy?” We must give him time. I hope that with Garland at the helm, some of the stench of the former guy will at least start to fade.