You're right. He put a face on the one holding the light out of the darkness. That face as yet has not appeared in the current tragedy.
Unfortunately, I think Chertoff does not command the respect needed by Homeland Security Chief.
When Republicans surrender to making political appointments that are acceptable to Democrats because they don't feel threatened that the person will show any leadership, as is too often the case, then we wind up with wimps.
I don't know what all the dirty laundry Bernard Kerik carried, but if it was just that he had a mistress and an illegal nanny, then after the Clintons that should be small potatoes in relation to the challenges this nation faces. Just as we need John Bolton in the U.N. right now, we need someone strong and decisive in that position, not someone politically inoffensive to the enemies within.
After 9-11 the American public was almost conditioned into believing further national catastrophes would bring forth another stabilizing factor such as Rudy, and so far, with this Katrina nightmare the next Rudy has not emerged.