Friday, November 09, 2007
Tricky Bernie
Rudy Giuliani had a rather interesting defense of his former police commissioner Thursday night. He compared him, favorably, with Richard Nixon:
The fact remains that the first paragaraph in a summary of Richard Nixon is Watergate -- not China. Figure out what the first paragraph in a summary of Mr. 16-Counts will be. Furthermore, Kerik didn't do "the impossible" with respect to reducing New York City crime. He continued a project of which the lion's share was well under way via the work of predecessors who were on the job for six and a half years of Rudy Giuliani's tenure as mayor. It should go without saying that neither Bill Bratton nor Howard Safir (nor incumbent Commissioner Ray Kelly) have come under state and federal investigation and indictment, even as they did "the impossible."
Meanwhile, John McCain and a certain significant endorser went for the jugular and said that Kerik was a direct reflection on Rudy's judgment:
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Even after faulting himself for not adequately vetting Kerik, the former mayor praised him as "one of the most decorated cops in the police department," an "exceptional" commissioner for the Department of Corrections, and someone who "did the impossible" as police commissioner."Complex". Isn't that a good word?
"But, you know, people are complex," Giuliani said. "Richard Nixon had this very serious problem, but his breakthrough with China was one of the historical things that happened in the 20th century. You can't take that away from him."
When asked if that didn't seem to be excusing the crimes Kerik is alleged to have committed -- receiving free apartment renovations and rent from sources trying to curry favor with him, and failing to pay taxes on those gifts -- Giuliani said, "Of course not. How about: It's reality It's the complexity of human life and the reality of human life. And sometimes in political discussion we get very simplistic and we get to yes and no answers."
"He did a very good job," Giuliani said. "I know people don't like to hear it, but he did."
The fact remains that the first paragaraph in a summary of Richard Nixon is Watergate -- not China. Figure out what the first paragraph in a summary of Mr. 16-Counts will be. Furthermore, Kerik didn't do "the impossible" with respect to reducing New York City crime. He continued a project of which the lion's share was well under way via the work of predecessors who were on the job for six and a half years of Rudy Giuliani's tenure as mayor. It should go without saying that neither Bill Bratton nor Howard Safir (nor incumbent Commissioner Ray Kelly) have come under state and federal investigation and indictment, even as they did "the impossible."
Meanwhile, John McCain and a certain significant endorser went for the jugular and said that Kerik was a direct reflection on Rudy's judgment:
McCain, a Republican senator from Arizona, pointed to Kerik's performance in Iraq, along with complaints about how Giuliani treated first-responders after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, as reasons why the former mayor's presidential campaign should deserve greater scrutiny from voters.A similar assessment might be made about the difference between being an urban city mayor -- and a U.S. president.
"I don't know Mr. Kerik. I do know that I went to Baghdad shortly after the initial victory and met in Baghdad with (Ambassador Paul) Bremer and (Lt. Gen. Ricardo) Sanchez. And Kerik was there. Kerik was supposed to be there to help train the police force. He stayed two months and one day left, just up and left," McCain told reporters traveling on his campaign bus.
"That's why I never would've supported him to be the head of homeland security because of his irresponsible act when he was over in Baghdad to try and help train the police. One of the reasons why we had so much trouble with the initial training of the police was because he came, didn't do anything and then went out to the airport and left."
Republican McCain campaigned on Friday with Tom Ridge, the former governor of Pennsylvania and the nation's first secretary of homeland security under President Bush.
"It was clear the mayor and I had a different view what the department does and the kind of leadership it needed," Ridge told reporters. "His judgment would've been different than mine."
He said the situation reflected a fundamental misunderstanding by Giuliani of how the U.S. government works.
"We're not talking about some urban city patronage job," Ridge told The Associated Press. "That's not what a Cabinet secretary's about."
Labels: Bernie Kerik, GOP 2008 President, Rudy Giuliani
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Corrupt, But Competent?
Rudy Giuliani's ringing endorsement of his former police commissioner -- AND a promise of what his White House might look like?
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Giuliani has accepted responsibility for his role in Kerik's embarrassing 2004 withdrawal as President Bush's Homeland Security nominee after revelation of tax problems. Ethics questions and corruption allegations also have swirled around Kerik. But the former New York mayor said the results of the commissioner's time in New York far outweigh isolated incidences.
"Bernie Kerik worked for me while I was mayor of New York City. There were mistakes made with Bernie Kerik. But what's the ultimate result for the people of New York City? The ultimate result for the people of New York City was a 74 percent reduction in shootings, a 60 percent reduction in crime, a correction program that went from being one of the worst in the country to one
that was on '60 Minutes' as the best in the country, 90 percent reduction of violence in the jails.""Sure, there were issues, but if I have the same degree of success and failure as president of the United States, this country will be in great shape," Giuliani said.
Given what the Bush administration and the Republican Congress produced in their last few years together, the impulse for competence is admirable. But Rudy's papering over the fact that his former corrections and overall police commissioner was allegedly mobbed up is hardly reassuring. Oh, and crediting Kerik with "74 percent reduction in shootings [and] a 60 percent reduction in crime" is a crock. He was Giuliani's third commissioner -- having the job only for Giuliani's final 15 months in office. The downward trend was already well under way, inititiated by Bill Bratton, continued by Howard Safir (who was problematic in other ways) and then handed off to Kerik.
But Rudy wants to credit his mobbed-up pal with the entire crime plunge in his tenure? Quite a selective memory. With that sort of viewpoint, the country will surely be in "great shape."
Labels: Bernie Kerik, corruption, GOP 2008 President, Rudy Giuliani
Sunday, April 08, 2007
RT Obsession-Watch Grand Unification Theory
The wisdom of Rudy Giuliani meets the "competence" of Alberto Gonzales:
So, Giuliani overlooks his crony's potential mob ties and recommends him to a Cabinet position (the most important domestic one in the post-9/11 era. Gonzales abrogates the usual vetting process -- with the selection blowing up in the administration's face.
Again, this puts supporters of both Rudy Giuliani and the administration in an awkward position: What's worse, Rudy's blind eye to his employee/colleague's corruption -- or the administration (i.e., Gonzales') negligence in not scuttling the nomination before the announcement? Given this episode, AGAG (Attorney General Alberto Gonzales) 's foul-up with the U.S. attorneys makes even more sense.
With everything that was known (even to the White House) about Kerik before the nomination, isn't it interesting that a failure to pay taxes on a domestic worker was the "reason" he actually withdrew?
Or was it?
"Nanny problem" may be the "legal/political" flip side of the "retiring to spend more time with one's family" coin? If an individual just becomes a political embarassment, they resort to the latter. If there are a number of problematic legal issues associated with a nominee or appointment, heretofore unknown domestic workers will suddenly appear to force a hasty withdrawal/resignation.
Meanwhile, speaking of AGAG, a former House Speaker stated that it was about time he hit the road.
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When former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani urged President Bush to make Bernard B. Kerik the next secretary of homeland security, White House aides knew Kerik as the take-charge top cop from Sept. 11, 2001. But it did not take them long to compile an extensive dossier of damaging information about the would-be Cabinet officer.Emphasis added.
They learned about questionable financial deals, an ethics violation, allegations of mismanagement and a top deputy prosecuted for corruption. Most disturbing, according to people close to the process, was Kerik's friendship with a businessman who was linked to organized crime. The businessman had told federal authorities that Kerik received gifts, including $165,000 in apartment renovations, from a New Jersey family with alleged Mafia ties.
Alarmed about the raft of allegations, several White House aides tried to raise red flags. But the normal investigation process was short-circuited, the sources said. Bush's top lawyer, Alberto R. Gonzales, took charge of the vetting, repeatedly grilling Kerik about the issues that had been raised. In the end, despite the concerns, the White House moved forward with his nomination -- only to have it collapse a week later.
So, Giuliani overlooks his crony's potential mob ties and recommends him to a Cabinet position (the most important domestic one in the post-9/11 era. Gonzales abrogates the usual vetting process -- with the selection blowing up in the administration's face.
Again, this puts supporters of both Rudy Giuliani and the administration in an awkward position: What's worse, Rudy's blind eye to his employee/colleague's corruption -- or the administration (i.e., Gonzales') negligence in not scuttling the nomination before the announcement? Given this episode, AGAG (Attorney General Alberto Gonzales) 's foul-up with the U.S. attorneys makes even more sense.
With everything that was known (even to the White House) about Kerik before the nomination, isn't it interesting that a failure to pay taxes on a domestic worker was the "reason" he actually withdrew?
Or was it?
"Nanny problem" may be the "legal/political" flip side of the "retiring to spend more time with one's family" coin? If an individual just becomes a political embarassment, they resort to the latter. If there are a number of problematic legal issues associated with a nominee or appointment, heretofore unknown domestic workers will suddenly appear to force a hasty withdrawal/resignation.
Meanwhile, speaking of AGAG, a former House Speaker stated that it was about time he hit the road.
Labels: Alberto Gonzales, Bernie Kerik, Rudy Giuliani
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Bern, Baby Bern...
The former Department of Homeland Security nominee is facing some felony charges, according to The Washington Post. His ex-business partner (and former boss), Rudy Giuliani now admits that vouching for Kerik to the White House was a "mistake."
No kidding.
On the list of items that individuals running for president don't exactly like, any sentence that has "felony" and "former business partner/employee" in close proximity to one another is high on the list.
It should be noted that the potential charges facing Kerik focus on when he ran the Department of Corrections and the information he gave the feds during his DHS background check; they don't appear to focus on when he was police commissioner (though that, of course, raises questions like, "So, how did you manage to stop being a crook while when you were commissioner, Mr. Kerik?"). Another set of words that Republican presidential candidates don't like hearing close to one another -- "conspiracy to commit illegal wiretapping":
Now, that's a great use of taxpayer monies, no?
So, between that and Mr. Giuliani's latest wife, is it any wonder that a few New Yorkers like to practice their favorite Cary Grant impression ("Judy, Judy, Judy")?
Since the following appears in the pages of a certain New York tabloid that does not employ this writer, I can't independently confirm it, but the above does give it a certain ring of validity:
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No kidding.
On the list of items that individuals running for president don't exactly like, any sentence that has "felony" and "former business partner/employee" in close proximity to one another is high on the list.
It should be noted that the potential charges facing Kerik focus on when he ran the Department of Corrections and the information he gave the feds during his DHS background check; they don't appear to focus on when he was police commissioner (though that, of course, raises questions like, "So, how did you manage to stop being a crook while when you were commissioner, Mr. Kerik?"). Another set of words that Republican presidential candidates don't like hearing close to one another -- "conspiracy to commit illegal wiretapping":
In addition to charges involving false information and tax law, the U.S. attorney's office in New York City is also threatening to charge Kerik with conspiracy to commit illegal wiretapping in his dealings with the 2006 GOP candidate for New York attorney general, Jeanine F. Pirro, the sources said.One of the more interesting anecdotes during Kerik's tenure as police commissioner involved publisher Judith Regan (of the O.J. book fiasco). Regan, Kerik's then-girlfriend (or, one of them, at least) lost her cell phone and necklace and became convinced that Fox News employees had taken them. So, the staffers were quite surprised to find members of New York's Finest -- murder detectives, no less! -- on their doorstep asking about the lost property.
Now, that's a great use of taxpayer monies, no?
So, between that and Mr. Giuliani's latest wife, is it any wonder that a few New Yorkers like to practice their favorite Cary Grant impression ("Judy, Judy, Judy")?
Since the following appears in the pages of a certain New York tabloid that does not employ this writer, I can't independently confirm it, but the above does give it a certain ring of validity:
Murdoch also had an opinion on Rudy. Our source reports the News Corp. chief said: "Giuliani is a one-man show. He doesn't attract good people. But I don't think any of them can beat Giuliani for the Republican nomination."Emphasis added.
Labels: Bernie Kerik, corruption, Rudy Giuliani
