In this role, Starr developed a reputation as a moderate conservative. He was against affirmative action, but protective of the First Amendment, most memorably in a decision for the Washington Post protecting it from a libel suit brought by William P. Tavoulareas, chair of the Mobil Corporation. In a move rare among justices, Starr stepped down from the bench in 1989 to become the solicitor general under President George Bush. The solicitor general bridges the executive and judicial branches of the government, arguing the position of the president's administration in front of the Supreme Court. Starr did not jump on this offer right away, taking several days to contemplate it. "I really loved being a judge on that court," he told Neil A. Lewis in the New York Times. Though liberals were initially relieved that the office was no longer held by Charles Fried, a Reagan conservative who many believed used the office to further right-wing causes, Starr proved to hold many of the same positions. Regarding a case in Minnesota, he supported anti-abortion forces, who wanted a law stating that both parents must be notified when a minor seeks an abortion. He also argued that burning the U.S. flag should be illegal. Liberals disliked his harsh stance against abortion rights, yet his own party felt he was too moderate to warrant an appointment to the Supreme Court when a seat became vacant on the bench in 1990. Bush named David Souter instead, and when Democrat Bill Clinton was elected president in 1992, Starr returned to private practice with the Washington, D.C., office of the Chicago-based firm, Kirkland & Ellis, with a salary reported to be in excess of a million dollars. After leaving the solicitor general job, Starr considered running in Virginia's Republican senate primary before taking the position with Kirkland & Ellis. The government, however, soon beckoned again. In November of 1993, the Senate Ethics Committee called upon Starr, asking him to peruse Senator Bob Packwood's diaries when he was embroiled in sexual misconduct accusations. Then, Starr was recruited to replace Robert Fiske as an independent counsel. In this position, an attorney is chosen to investigate high-profile cases in the government. They are meant to be nonpartisan and neutral and do not have to answer to any governmental body. A number of vocal Democrats, and even some Republicans, felt that Starr was too involved in Republican politics to satisfy the terms of the job, but Starr vowed objectivity.