No More Mineta

Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, the lone Bush cabinet member who's hated more by the right than the left, is giving up his post. The DOT site has his letter of resignation, written three days ago but just now released. (PDF file.)

There is much talk these days about a lack of civility in our political discourse and of deep ideological and partisan divisions at every level of government, most especially here in Washington, D.C. There is enough evidence to suggest that such talk and the concerns that it reflects are not without merit. But . . . I would like to think that you and I have demonstrated, even in a small way, that different political affiliations do not have to translate into opposing views on the value of public policy issues or the nobility of public service.

That's one way of putting it. For another take, you can read Michael Lynch's 2001 epistle on Mineta's idea of reform, or James Bovard's 2004 takedown of the TSA.