Holder didn't take any guff.

• Author: McFarlane, Clive
• Position: Local

Byline: Clive McFarlane

I am going to miss Eric Holder, the first African-American to serve as attorney general of the United States.

As President Obama implied in announcing Mr. Holder's resignation, if the country's moral grounding that "all men are created free and equal under the law'' is more than just lip service, then Mr. Holder's legacy has been a stout affirmation of that belief.

Among Mr. Holder's accomplishments, Mr. Obama pointed out his vigorous efforts in restoring fairness to the criminal justice system, in fighting against attacks on the Voting Rights Act, in challenging discriminatory state immigration laws, and in not defending the Defense of Marriage Act.

He was also stellar in going after corporate malfeasance, perhaps not as much as some would like, particularly in the case of the big banks that ripped off the country and brought it to the edge of financial disaster.

Nevertheless, Holder's Justice Department won a fair number of discrimination cases against banks, including a $16 million settlement from Morgan Stanley and a $335 million settlement from Bank of America.

He nailed Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to the tune of $81.6 million for violating the Clean Water Act.

Yes, there were some decisions of his that made me uncomfortable, such as his support of the National Security Agency's authority to collect the phone records of millions of law-abiding Americans.

Still, I am going to miss him, and not so much for the courage he has shown in taking on tough issues, but more for his unwillingness to suffer fools, aka congressional tea party lunatics.

While President Obama struck a more amiable tone in dismissing the relentless tea party attacks on his legitimacy as an American, Mr. Holder unflinchingly and publicly said there was racial animus to a "certain amount of the vehemence'' that was directed at him and the president.

Mr. Holder was particularly tough on the tea party faction of the House of Representatives. His exchanges with Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, during several congressional hearings come to mind.

It...