HELLO, EVERYBODY!!! I've been lurking for years but just joined up and THIS IS MY FIRST POST!!!
You don't have to be gentle with me. Sometimes I like it rough.
*ahem* On to the topic...
Lawful Good.
It's funny how people have no trouble grokking how Lawful Evil works but the moment Lawful Good comes to mind they compartmentalize L.G.'ness as prudish, narrow minded, and stupid. Many folks here are making a common mistake by viewing Lawful Good solely in a medieval "Knight-with-tunnel-vision-In Shining Armor" manner.
If you check the description of Lawful Good in D&D 3.5 it points out specifically that a Lawful Good character's GOODNESS balances the Lawfulness so that a L.G. character isn't automatically trapped by 'ethical bureaucratic paperwork' whenever a moral decision must be made.
The key to understanding the underlying strength of a L.G. character's lawfulness is recognizing that they find value in the laws i.e. "Murder is illegal because it's WRONG to brain newborn babies", not because a law should be followed simply BECAUSE it's THE LAW, i.e. "Chop that starving urchin's hand off for stealing a crumb of bread!!!". That sort of severe reaction is a Lawful Neutral's BLACK or WHITE response--the law is the law, morals have no place involved. A Lawful Good character recognizes that while theft is illegal, there can be mitigating factors based not just on compassion but--dare I say it--out of common sense that should be considered.
THIS is why a paladin is REQUIRED to have a high WISDOM!
Try viewing Lawful Good from the perspective of, say, the JEDI CODE.
The Jedi Code sets down simple but incredibly encompassing rules: "There is no emotion, there is peace", for example.
To an outsider such a rule seems insanely suffocating, even hokey. But to the Jedi who understand that the UNDERLYING REASON for the rule is that failure to abide by it can result in a fall to the dark side the Rule of Peace is not only logical but an ideal that is to be strived for personally achieving.
In the Star Wars books (particularly The Revenge of the Sith) Obi Wan Kenobi was a by-the-book Jedi, but he was hardly Lawful Stupid. It was Obi Wan's wisdom that guided him on what was right and wrong and how to deal with conflicting goals. Moreover it was a quality of wisdom that you can see develop from the youthful and simplistic tunnel vision of right and wrong to a deeper and more mature encompassing perspective. He goes from "Why do I get the feeling we're picking up another pathetic life form?" to "You don't want to sell me death sticks, you want to go home and rethink your life." to "Then I will do what I must."
Put a paladin into action with the mindset of him operating as a Jedi Master in plate mail and the fog of "Lawful Stupidity" clears up really fast.
On the other hand Qui Gon Jinn was definitely Chaotic Good.