Kerik and Hillary

My readers correct my ignorance.

Several readers cure some of my ignorance regarding Mickey Kaus’s nudge-and-wink about Hillary Clinton’s sex life and about the Kerik affair. (See previous post.)

One points out that the Vince-Foster-was-murdered crowd has long been convinced that Hillary Clinton is bisexual, and in fact one “Christian” group tried to run TV spots saying as much in 2000. Another points out the strong resemblance between the treatment of Hillary by the GOP and the gutter press and the assaults on Eleanor Roosevelt.

Another reminds me that I can’t responsibly write about Kerik without keeping current with Josh Marshall’s reportage. It turns out that, in addition to the issue of whether Kerik misappropriated an apartment intended for the use of rescue workers, there’s a more serious issue about who actually paid for the place, which was more expensive than Kerik could have afforded on his public-sector salary.

My earlier post was faulty in yet another respect: It said, correctly, that Bush had nominated Kerik for DHS Secretary, but omitted the fact that Bush had already given Kerik a major assignment, which Kerik had blown badly and left early: as chief “adviser” to the Interior Ministry in Iraq.

Author: Mark Kleiman

Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out. Books: Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken) When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993) Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989) UCLA Homepage Curriculum Vitae Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com

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