Bad choice

Crap... I wrote about him here and here Bernard Kerik was an excellent candidate for the position of director of Homeland Security. He recently removed himself from the selection process saying that there was an issue with an illegal-immigrant Nanny but the problem may go a bit deeper. Blogger Roger L. Simon links to this article at Findlaw: Roger's comments first: bq. My "Nanny Problem" and Yours Bernard Kerik has withdrawn his name from consideration for Homeland Security Director for breaking what is probably the second most disobeyed law in the country (puff, puff) - employing an illegal alien as a housekeeper. Out here in the bourgeois nabes of Southern California, there's most likely a similar miscreant in every other house--or maybe even three out of four. bq. Of course, Kerik was a cop... and about to be America's security chief... so we shouldn't excuse him such things. But I'd wager a lot of the finger pointers in the media and elsewhere on this "astonishing revelation" are about as squeaky clean on the issue as those "distinguished barristers" Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood. Remember them? We've all been here before. When it comes to hypocrisy, this issue, which crosses party lines at will, even has marijuana beat. The real problem isn't Kerik, it's illegal immigration in this country and what to do about it. No one has even scratched the surface of that. bq. But as for Kerik, the whole "nanny" situation may be no more than a cover story for something far more serious. And the story from Findlaw: bq. Kerik Made Millions From Agency Contractor Bernard Kerik, President Bush's choice to run the Homeland Security Department, made $6.2 million by exercising stock options he received from a company that sold stun guns to the department - and seeks more business with it. bq. Taser International was one of many companies that received consulting advice from Kerik after he left his job as New York City police commissioner in 2001, when he was earning $150,500 a year. Kerik remains on Taser's board of directors, although the company and the White House said he planned to sever the relationship. bq. Partnering with former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and also operating independently, Kerik has had business arrangements with manufacturers of prescription drugs, computer software and bulletproof materials, as well as companies selling nuclear power, telephone service, insurance and security advice for Americans working abroad. bq. The man who led the New York Police Department on Sept. 11, 2001, has been effusively praised by Senate Republicans and Democrats for his management during and after the attacks. He served the Defense Department in Iraq in 2003 as interior minister under the former U.S. occupation authority. bq. Federal ethics rules state that executive branch employees should avoid participating in decisions where their impartiality could be questioned, unless they receive approval from an agency ethics official. Well crap... He made some dirty money. This is a shame because with his track record he would have been perfect for the job. He was the best choice and I cannot think of anyone I would nominate for number two...