The Right Man

Bernie Kerik has been nominated by Bush to succeed Tom Ridge and his old boss is giving him raves:

WASHINGTON -- Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani says his close aide, Bernard Kerik, would surprise a lot of people as head of the nation's homeland security _ not with his gruff, beat-cop demeanor, but with his quiet expertise at reining in a sprawling bureaucracy. Giuliani, who surprised many by choosing Kerik to become the city's 40th police commissioner, said he always saw much more than a beefy cop with a knack for catching drug dealers.

"When you see him, he's a big strong guy and a black belt," said Giuliani. "What you get to know when you work with him is how smart he is ... how effective and sophisticated a manager he is."

I suspect that Kerik will be an extremely effective leader of a department that needs coalescing and is maybe the most important cabinet position.