In early January 2001, when Mr. Bush was assembling his first cabinet from offices in Austin, Tex., and here in Washington, a committed conservative, Linda Chavez, broke the unwritten rules of Washington by failing to disclose all during a very quick vetting process.
Mr. Kerik ran afoul the same way. White House officials said Saturday that they had asked all the right questions about the status of his domestic help – whether he paid taxes, whether anyone was in the country illegally. This is hardly a new line of questioning. Hiring illegal immigrants has been prohibited by law since November 1986, and it is the problem that tripped up the nomination of Zoe Baird for attorney general under President Bill Clinton. It was particularly important because Mr. Kerik, if confirmed, would oversee the enforcement of immigration law.” (New York Times )
I am surprised at The Times [or should I be?]. It is obvious that it was an appointment that was bound to run into confirmation difficulties from the inception, and not because of any domestic help issues. I imagine the Democrats signalled that his recent questionable performance in training security forces for our WoT®, which role Bush did not even mention in announcing the appointment, was not going to be passed over in the confirmation hearings. Then there are questions about shady financial dealings and rumors that high level Homeland Security staff were panic-stricken about the appointment. Hasty choice indeed.
It has been pointed out that the real loser in the Kerik debacle may be Rudy Giuliani. Kerik was his protegé and he was pushing for the nomination. What price will he pay for embarrassing the imperious Bush, who can never take responsibility for his own mistakes?
