THE WHEELCHAIR GAMES HIGH JUMP:

It is better to have an attorney general nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate in an undoubtedly legal fashion than to have an acting attorney general serving in circumstances of dubious legality.

It is better to have an attorney general who is steeped in the traditions and culture of the Justice Department than to have an acting attorney general who is understood at the department to be operating as the "eyes and ears" of a president who is busily attacking the institution.

It is better to have an attorney general who has run the department before and served with distinction in other senior roles within it than to have an acting attorney general whose experience is limited to a brief stint running a relatively sleepy U.S. Attorney's Office, and an even briefer stint as the chief of staff to the attorney general.

Read: Trump picks a Washington insider as his next attorney general

And it is better to have an attorney general with a long-standing professional reputation as a lawyer to protect than to have an acting attorney general who is professionally on the make and dependent on the president, and whose career has included no legal practice of any distinction but, instead, work for some rather shady outfits.

None of this is a character reference on behalf of Bill Barr, President Donald Trump's nominee to run the Justice Department. In fact, there are legitimate reasons to be concerned about Barr's nomination.

They are, however, all reasons to be cautiously optimistic about his nomination. 

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