Kerik: Putting the "swag" back in swagger

Josh Marshall's been busy today, with updates on mounting evidence of his history of shady dealings and dubious past, here and here and, from yesterday, here

Sources at the White House say that Bush was impatient with the vetting process, that he liked the image of the self-made man, rising from delinquency through the ranks and landing in a position of authority. Hmmm. That sounds familiar. Especially the part about the image -- as opposed to reality -- of the "self-made man."

But. hell, Kerik was committed to security, wasn't he? Surely his brave stint in Baghdad exemplified that.

But Kerik didn't seem to show much interest in Iraqis, said a senior U.S. official who worked with him. He appeared to enjoy going on night raids against "bad guys" with some South African mercenaries who were serving as bodyguards to U.S. officials. On his screen saver, Kerik had a photo of a big house he had just bought in New Jersey that he said was across the street from former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms's. Kerik told his colleagues he planned to be in Baghdad for three months while the house was undergoing renovations. "So," the official says he told Kerik, "you're here because you needed a place to go while they're doing renovations on your house." Kerik grinned and cocked a finger as if to say, "You got it."

Perhaps the best thing about this is that we now have a new trend to follow in DC politics: the failure to pay taxes on the nanny is now for dirt-covered nominees what "spending more time with the family" is for those leaving government under clouds.