Like most politicians, Rep. John Murtha, who died Monday at age 77 of complications following gall bladder surgery, was a mixture of the ostensibly idealistic and the grubbiness of day-to-day practical politics. He had his most significant moment in the national spotlight in 2005, when he decided that the war in Iraq was a misbegotten endeavor and called for an immediate phased withdrawal.

As a Marine who had served in Vietnam and was generally regarded as hawkish on national security matters and an untiring advocate for those serving in uniform, Rep. Murtha's position commanded attention — though it hardly brought about an end to the war.

Rep. Murtha's more lasting reputation, however, is likely to be as a master of the less-lofty practices of logrolling and earmarking. Beginning with his first election to the House in 1974, he mastered the arcane and sometimes ethically dubious arts of getting the maximum amount of money from the federal budget for his own district in western Pennsylvania.

Mr. Murtha also directed earmarks toward clients of a lobbying firm founded by a former subcommittee staffer — and collected campaign contributions from beneficiaries of his largess with tax money. He was a target of the Abscam investigation in the early 1980s, when FBI agents went undercover as lobbyists and tried to bribe members of Congress, but was not indicted.

John Murtha stood out because he was more skillful than most at the dark arts of taking the taxpayers' money and distributing it to favored constituents, and was utterly unapologetic about it. People in his district, which boasts a shiny new airport named after him, among other projects, will no doubt miss him.

REPRINTED FROM THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER.