There is a long tradition of eulogising good officials, whose devotion and sacrifice is held up as a public model.
Mr. Ashcroft, after all, is an official whose devotion to the gun lobby extends to granting its request to immediately destroy records of gun purchases amassed in the process of conducting Brady law background checks even though they might be useful for tracking weapons purchases by suspected terrorists.
While Pegram builds his book up from the experiences of ordinary Klansmen, she builds out from the Klan's official declarations of religious devotion drawn from K.K.K. newspapers and magazines.
Mr. Obama had accompanied Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to the State Department to console grieving employees there, and spoke off the cuff, a senior administration official said, about the devotion of diplomats like Mr. Stevens and the American ideals that they put themselves in the line of fire to uphold.
The calling of public service and civic devotion that government officials can reasonably be expected to use as motivation for their work (or, at least, their speeches) is inseparable from the will to make things happen, the fierce and relentless action to put their principles into effect.
They had impressed foster care officials with their apparent diligence and devotion to their eight children, who had been removed from their home because of accusations of abuse.
Nelson's devotion led him to official histories and archives, small-town newspaper accounts and private papers inherited by descendants of members of the regiment.
After receiving the key to the city and a proclamation making him an official citizen of Memphis for his devotion to civil rights, the Dalai Lama bowed and smiled.
Renaming himself Peter Bergson, he pursued his mission with fervent devotion, clashing with Jewish-American officials who refused to help.
It was a show of fervent devotion to a songwriter whose official debut album, "Channel Orange," was released just two weeks ago and whose songs aren't radio-ready jingles.
