The Passing of 'Big Al'

He preferred to be called 'Big Al.' Alexander Haig, the army general who became a top adviser to at least 3 Presidents, including Nixon, Ford, and Reagan, has died.

Haig is known primarily for 2 comments he made during 2 administrations.

During the Nixon fiasco, when a reporter asked who could have been responsible for the infamous 17-minute gap in the tapes on which the President recorded all conversations, Haig responded, 'I think that perhaps it was a sinister force.'

During the Reagan Administration, immediately following the shooting that sent the President to the hospital for surgery, Haig told the media gathered at the White House, 'I am in charge here.'

Of course, actually Vice-President George H.W. Bush was in charge. But Bush was not present at the White House, and Haig believed that in the aftermath and uncertainty of the assassination attempt, somebody in the Administration needed to be the face of steady leadership during the crisis. In the absence of Bush, Haig became that person.

Despite these 2 incidences for which he is most remembered, Al Haig was a key leader in government and a powerful adviser during some of America's most troublesome years. He is certainly deserving of America's gratitude.

We regret his passing, and our condolences go to the members of the Haig family.