Point: Can Rudy Fail?
The White House continued to have Cabinet-related failures over the weekend, as nominee Bernard Kerik, former police commissioner of New York, withdrew after admitting he had employed an illegal immigrant.
This is an amazing story to me for several reasons. I fail to understand how, in an era of the government tracking our every move, the White House dropped the ball on vetting Bernard Kerik. In the age of the internet, I can find out how many bowties Tucker Carlson owns, how many people in Tokyo watched Super Bowl XXIII, or what country Donald Rumsfeld is insulting the troops in. How did the White House fail to vet Kerik? Do they need to borrow a couple acne-addled interns for the Howard Stern show to work background checks? I mean, give me a hour with Google and I'll figure it out.
The official reason for Kerik withdrawing his name was that he employed a illegal immigrant as a nanny. This offense has become commonplace for nominees in the past ten or fifteen years, notably in the case of Zoe Baird, President Clinton's nominee for Attorney General in 1993. Now, we don't run a think tank here at Point vs Point, but you'd assume that those with political aspirations would want to stay on the straight and narrow. Especially if your aspiration is to run Homeland Security, which oversees immigration.
Unfortunately for Bernard Kerik, news sources like CNN and Fox News are better at research than the leader of the free world and his staff, as they've uncovered a laundry list of his mishaps in the last few days. Kerik, who also served as a Senior Policy Advisor, had an arrest warrant issued in 1998 after failing to pay maintenance fees on a condominium in New Jersey. To make matter far worse, CNN is reporting that while NYC Police Commissioner, Kerik allegedly took cash payoffs from a construction company with ties to the mafia.
So Kerik's pretty much screwed. Next week that will be old news. The important question is where does this leave Rudy Giuliani? Giuliani, who lobbied hard for Kerik's appointment, is now in a bit of a fix. His name has been dragged through the mud a little, which seems to be a problem as all indications point to a presidential run in 2008. Will this scandal bog down his aspirations, or will the immense popularity from 9/11 carry him through it? This writer thinks that this is just the beginning of a series of blemishes that Giuliani will reminded of. Once election talk starts up again, the New York media will trot out Rudy's "greatest" hits, including living with another woman in the Mayor's house while married, and using questionable force against criminals while District Attorney of New York City.
Rudolph Giuliani is to be commended for his strong leadership during the country's most difficult time of the past century. Unfortunately, his good friend Bernard Kerik has proved that national politics will magnify any mistake made. I still feel that Giuliani has the tools and moxie to win in 2008. The red states of this country vote on only two issues: homeland security and the war, and George W. Bush has proved that someone with a questionable background can be elected (twice). This bodes well for Giuliani, who has had Bush's job in his radar since his post-9/11 heroics.
We'll all have to wait four years to see if "Rudy Can't Fail"...
This is an amazing story to me for several reasons. I fail to understand how, in an era of the government tracking our every move, the White House dropped the ball on vetting Bernard Kerik. In the age of the internet, I can find out how many bowties Tucker Carlson owns, how many people in Tokyo watched Super Bowl XXIII, or what country Donald Rumsfeld is insulting the troops in. How did the White House fail to vet Kerik? Do they need to borrow a couple acne-addled interns for the Howard Stern show to work background checks? I mean, give me a hour with Google and I'll figure it out.
The official reason for Kerik withdrawing his name was that he employed a illegal immigrant as a nanny. This offense has become commonplace for nominees in the past ten or fifteen years, notably in the case of Zoe Baird, President Clinton's nominee for Attorney General in 1993. Now, we don't run a think tank here at Point vs Point, but you'd assume that those with political aspirations would want to stay on the straight and narrow. Especially if your aspiration is to run Homeland Security, which oversees immigration.
Unfortunately for Bernard Kerik, news sources like CNN and Fox News are better at research than the leader of the free world and his staff, as they've uncovered a laundry list of his mishaps in the last few days. Kerik, who also served as a Senior Policy Advisor, had an arrest warrant issued in 1998 after failing to pay maintenance fees on a condominium in New Jersey. To make matter far worse, CNN is reporting that while NYC Police Commissioner, Kerik allegedly took cash payoffs from a construction company with ties to the mafia.
So Kerik's pretty much screwed. Next week that will be old news. The important question is where does this leave Rudy Giuliani? Giuliani, who lobbied hard for Kerik's appointment, is now in a bit of a fix. His name has been dragged through the mud a little, which seems to be a problem as all indications point to a presidential run in 2008. Will this scandal bog down his aspirations, or will the immense popularity from 9/11 carry him through it? This writer thinks that this is just the beginning of a series of blemishes that Giuliani will reminded of. Once election talk starts up again, the New York media will trot out Rudy's "greatest" hits, including living with another woman in the Mayor's house while married, and using questionable force against criminals while District Attorney of New York City.
Rudolph Giuliani is to be commended for his strong leadership during the country's most difficult time of the past century. Unfortunately, his good friend Bernard Kerik has proved that national politics will magnify any mistake made. I still feel that Giuliani has the tools and moxie to win in 2008. The red states of this country vote on only two issues: homeland security and the war, and George W. Bush has proved that someone with a questionable background can be elected (twice). This bodes well for Giuliani, who has had Bush's job in his radar since his post-9/11 heroics.
We'll all have to wait four years to see if "Rudy Can't Fail"...
posted by paul at 10:24 AM
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