Alexander Haig, Nixon aide, aged 85

Alexander Haig died on Saturday. If you're not familiar with him, I recommend reading an obit or two (click here and here for the Post and the Times). He was a very interesting man. Kissinger remarked that during the "final days" period of the Nixon administration Haig—chief of staff after Bob Haldeman left the position in May 1973—held the country together while he, Kissinger, held the world together. He had a second bout with controversy during the Reagan administration. His confirmation as secretary of state was tumultuous—and he would only last eighteen months—but he had at least one memorable contribution: When Reagan was shot on in March 1981, Haig famously rushed to the Sit Room, telling the Washington press corps that until the vice president arrived back at the White House, "I am in control here" (a crisis later dramatized in a hilarious performance by Richard Dreyfuss):

All joking aside, however, he was a very fascinating man. And most conclude he was a pretty good egg. As the Post obit attests, his generally peaceful management of the Nixon downfall might well prove his greatest contribution to this country. MWF