Zell Miller takes the high road.

I assume we are all aware that Zell Miller announced Wednesday that he plans to send a check for $112,956 plus interest to the state of Georgia to resolve any question concerning his having taken certain funds from the state treasury when he was governor when his second term expired.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that House Democratic Minority Leader DuBose Porter had the following comments concerning Miller:

"He went crazy when he endorsed Ralph Reed, but I do not think Zell Miller ever has done anything inappropriate with any state funds."

These are my feelings exactly. I have known the man a longtime, and it would be my thoughts that had there been any question on an issue in the Miller's mind, he would have resolved it against himself.

Also I have read Miller's full response, and this confirms my feelings. In his response, he notes at the beginning:

"A generation ago, in 1969, Georgia’s attorney general was Arthur K. Bolton of Griffin. A World War II hero, he was known for his integrity, bluntness and political independence.

"That year he issued a ruling about the 'annual appropriation for the Executive Mansion,' which had been established four years earlier in 1965 and needed to be clarified. As usual, his words were clear and unambiguous. He opined that expenses 'are part of such official’s gross income.' He went on to point that to the extent they were not used for official business, they were 'taxable.'

"We strictly lived by that ruling. We lived by it because it was the law. None of the four governors before me (Maddox, Carter, Busbee, Harris) left a single penny for the governor after them. Only Barnes did that in 2002."

As attorneys, when we get an Attorney General's opinion with which we do not agree, we always say that's just another man's opinion. But I admit to having always paid a lot of deference to such an opinion when it was signed by Arthur Bolton.

That being said, and the matter having come up, it needs to be clarified by legislation or otherwise.

In the meanwhile, and regardless of whether we agree with Miller's politics as of late, he has taken the high road, and undone something that it appears he clearly had the right to do.