The New Kid on the Cabinet

Another confirmation for a Bush appointee

By Ben Chapman
Posted on 03/03/05

President Bush has a knack for nominating extremely controversial cabinet members. Dr. Condoleezza Rice was met with hostility from such mainstream Democrats as Senators John Kerry and Barbara Boxer, the only two Senators to vote against recommending Dr. Rice in committee. Alberto Gonzales sparked debate over the issue of prison torture. Senator Joseph Biden kept talking about how much he liked Gonzales during the hearing, anyway.

As for Michael Chertoff, he was the head of the criminal division of the Justice Department and oversaw the detention of hundreds of foreigners shortly after 9/11/01. Many were held for up to 80 days, without seeing an attorney, and many reported physical abuse.

Chertoff also served as Special Counsel to the Senate—to the Whitewater investigation committee.

His confirmation vote was held up in the Senate due to unreleased documents that may have implicated Chertoff in the abuse of detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

Chertoff was confirmed by the Senate, 98-0, as the new Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

How could such a controversial figure be so, well, non-controversial? Senator Ted Kennedy had this to say about Michael Chertoff, according to the Fox News website: “I met with Judge Chertoff and raised my concerns about these detainees and his role in formulating the policy. He recognized and understood that significant problems had occurred at the Justice Department in the treatment of the detainees and indicated a willingness to re-evaluate current policies and put in place protocols to prevent these abuses from recurring.” Kennedy said he would not vote against Chertoff; he did not.

For once, I am forced to agree with the conservative Senator from Massachusetts.

It should also be noted that there was a sense of urgency to fill this cabinet position; former secretary Tom Ridge had vacated his post February 1st, and a replacement was badly needed in the middle of the War on Terror.

But the lesson to be learned is this: media hype and grandstanding from the minority party can often distort the character of Bush’s nominees or make circumstances look worse than they actually are. On shows like MSNBC’s Hardball, the public often heard from Chris Matthews that a “fight” was brewing over Alberto Gonzales for Attorney General, despite the many kind words from Senator Biden bestowed upon him. And more often than not, this kind of distortion means that extremely well-qualified, experienced, and intelligent people like Dr. Rice put up with more criticism than they deserve.

When you look at the committee hearings and observe how the Senate votes, there is far more bipartisanship than the public is led to believe; Michael Chertoff is a case in point. Often, those appointed by the President have connections, either personal or working, to members of the opposition party. That’s common sense, good politics, and good public policy. Republicans only control the Senate by 5 votes. Democrats can, and do, filibuster when they want to. When figures who are not as controversial as one might believe them to be are nominated for cabinet posts, bridges are built between the two parties, and the government is allowed to run more efficiently.

Yet again, President Bush has proven he is a wise and effect leader, by the kinds of people he nominates and the kinds of people he works with.

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