Reginald Lloyd is respected by judicial colleagues and has the needed experience for U.S. attorney.

President Bush has an excellent candidate in Reginald Lloyd for South Carolina's U.S. attorney. Lloyd, 38, a state circuit court judge since 2003, has experience in the courtroom, private practice and state government.

If confirmed by the Senate, Lloyd would be the first black attorney to be named permanent U.S. attorney for South Carolina since Reconstruction. The nomination of an African American for a prominent post is another sign that this state is striving positively to overcome a historic legacy of blacks being shut out of high public office.

In addition, Lloyd's nomination will not marred by the questions that plagued Strom Thurmond Jr.'s appointment to the same post in 2001. Thurmond, son of the late senator, was 29 years old and had prosecuted only seven cases in the three years that he had been out of law school. Thurmond did earn considerable respect in judicial circles during his three years in the position but his tenure certainly didn't begin on the best footing.

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Lloyd, however, brings an impressive resume to the table. A Camden native, Lloyd earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Winthrop University in 1989. After working in North Carolina, Lloyd attended the University of South Carolina law school, graduating in 1993. He spent a few years in the field of business litigation at a Columbia law firm before joining the staff of then-Attorney General Charlie Condon, helping to lead the fight against video poker.

For two years, he was a research director and chief counsel to the South Carolina House Judiciary Committee, and was involved in defending the state's redistricting plan against charges that it was illegally drawn along racial lines. After three more years in private practice, Lloyd was chosen by the General Assembly to replace retiring At-large Circuit Court Judge L. Henry McKellar.

Lloyd would be one of 93 U.S. attorneys in the nation, responsible primarily for prosecuting criminal cases brought by the federal government and prosecuting and defending civil cases in which the United States is a party.

Although a Republican, Lloyd's nomination earned praise from high-profile members of both parties. Even former state Democratic Party chairman Dick Harpootlian, Lloyd's foe in the redistricting case, said he is "150 percent behind" Lloyd's nomination, according to the Associated Press. "I don't know of anybody who doesn't think he's done an extraordinary job," said Harpootlian.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who recommended Lloyd to President Bush, said the judge is a "rock-solid conservative" who "crosses all kinds of party lines and political lines." Lloyd's experience and the wide esteem in which he is held suggest that Bush has made superb choice for U.S. attorney.