Lawrence Eagleburger, R.I.P.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The only career foreign service officer to rise to the position of secretary of state, was a straightforward diplomat whose exuberant style masked a hard-driving commitment to solving tangled foreign policy problems.

"As good as they come," recalled his immediate predecessor as America's top diplomat.

Eagleburger, who died Saturday at age 80, held the job late in George H.W. Bush's presidency, culminating a distinguished diplomatic career.

I'll reserve judgment.