Kerik to replace Ridge.

On November 30, after spending more than a year pelting the American public with dire predictions of impending terrorist attacks, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced his resignation, insisting that America is safer because of his work.

"I am confident that the terrorists are aware that from the curb to the cockpit we've got additional security measures that didn't exist a couple years ago, that from port to port we do things differently with maritime security," Ridge declared as he announced his departure. "I am confident they know the borders are more secure. I am confident they know we have developed and are sharing information with state and local law enforcement." Because of these changes, Ridge continued, terrorists know that "America is a different place to work and operate in."

While terrorists may "know" all of these things, Ridge "acknowledged he could not prove the enormously expensive and complex security measures put in place since 2001 have foiled any terrorist attacks inside the United States," reported an AP story describing the press conference.

To replace Ridge, President Bush nominated former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, a close adviser to former New York mayor (and likely future GOP presidential contender) Rudolph Giuliani. "When you see him, he's a big strong guy and a black belt," Giuliani said of Kerik, praising his performance on September 11 and his work in reducing violence in city jails. Kerik also received plaudits from many prominent figures in New York law enforcement.

However, Kerik is not without his detractors. Former Navy Secretary John Lehman, a member of the Bipartisan Commission investigating 9/11, described Kerik's performance in the aftermath of the attack as "not worthy of the Boy Scouts." Newsday columnist Ellis Henican points out that Kerik was appointed to reconstruct Iraq's civilian police force, but ended up "hightailing it out of there after a disastrous 14 weeks, leaving the place far less safe than he found it."

Referring to Kerik as a "scandal-scarred former commissioner of the New York Correctional and Police departments," Henican urged Congress to examine Kerik's record and background carefully. An anonymous veteran of Kerik's tenure as commissioner of the Corrections Department told Newsday that Kerik "replaced the merit system with his own favoritism system."