Whack job or gut instinct?

Thomas Schaller thinks that the botched Kerik nomination was some kind of a Rovian hatchet job, taking out both Giuliani and Kerik in one swell foop. The NYT's Elizabeth Bumiller thinks it was more likely that the bond between Dubya and Kerik, forged in the fires of the aftermath of 9/11, that led el Presidente to announce his nomination before the Whitehouse had a chance to fully vet the nomination. Other reports suggest a breakdown in the Whitehouse's vetting process.

I'm thinking that given Dubya's management style, that Bumiller's analysis comes closest to the mark.

"The president had his own independent relationship with Kerik that had formed over the last several years, and he made his own decision," a White House official said last weekend.

The fact that this will likely destroy any prospect of future political ambitions of "America's Mayor" in the process is more likely mere coincidence than some Machiavellian scheme cooked up by Dr. Evil (Rove).

Given the relative ease and speed with which the press has been able to dig up a seemingly never-ending stream of dirt on Kerik, including ties to the N.J. mob, corruption both in NYC and possibly in Iraq, and repeated infidelity (what must the Evangelicals think!), it is hard to imagine that the DOJ, lead by our next Attorney General, wouldn't have come up with serious questions about Kerik had they been given an opportunity to vet the nominee.

So, there you have it. An impatient president who doesn't concern himself with annoying facts, but instead bases his decisions on "gut instinct", pushes ahead with a nomination without thoroughly vetting the nominee. The Whitehouse staff has been scrambling ever since to clean up the mess, insisting that their vetting process is not broken and trying to pin the blame on the nominee for not being forthcoming in his interviews.

As they say: Rarely right, but always certain.