Kerik Is Named to Head Homeland Security

Re “The Wrong NYPD Chief,” editorial, Dec. 5: The Times allows that Bernard Kerik has an excellent record as a police chief, trained police in Iraq and has unique professional and personal ties to the Middle East. Nevertheless, a petulant and poorly written editorial finds his nomination deficient simply because he is (horrors!) a Republican.

Is it simply unimaginable that highly qualified and dedicated candidates for public service may be found among the ranks of such inferior beings?

Has The Times forgotten that the current crop of Cabinet nominations are being made by a president who won the electoral college as well as a clear majority of the popular vote?

I doubt President Bush is waiting for your list of nominees.

David B. Sievers

Hidden Hills

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Oh my God! (Whoops, can I say that word anymore?) Kerik voted for Bush! How can he possibly be of any value in straightening out that mess at Homeland Security! Give me a break.

The entire Congress -- Democrats and Republicans -- is using Homeland Security as a pork barrel for hometown projects.

Everybody in Washington on both sides of the aisle has played the American public for fools in the Homeland Security scam that managed to take what functioning border security we had and turn it into a jobs program for out-of-work political hacks and wannabes.

Kerik will do one of two things. He will either be swallowed up by the vast legions of middle managers, or he will soon begin screaming from the rooftops that work needs to be done and Congress won’t let him.

As an “acolyte” of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, he may take the right road instead of the politically expedient one. Let’s wait and see.

William Scott Padgett

Los Angeles

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I agree with your editorial that Kerik is the wrong police chief for the Homeland Security job. However, he probably is the right person for the job that Bush wants done.

Bush opposed forming a homeland security department until he and political advisor Karl Rove saw the potential for creating a government-financed political organization that would have complete access to the power structure in every community.

In their initial proposal, they unsuccessfully tried to bypass the civil service system in order to staff the vast department from top to bottom with political appointees. They have not given up on that idea.

Kerik is their man. He will route money, programs, contracts and jobs for political purposes first; and true homeland security purposes will be second at best.

The ports in the blue states will continue to get the crumbs after towns in the red states are surfeited with shiny new equipment supplied through loyal contributors.

New York Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly might be better qualified to make the homeland secure, but he might tend to get his priorities mixed up. We can’t have that.

James Parriott Sr.

Oxnard