Digging deeper into the adventures of Bernie Kerik

Now I'll be the first to admit...I haven't done a lot of deep research into Bernie Kerik, his nomination for Director of Homeland Security, his withdrawal for consideration, or his (apparently quite sordid) past.

Not to worry. Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo has done that for me. Here's his latest dispatch on the Kerik controversy.

For this particular take on the story, Josh draws heavily from this NY Times (registration required) article. I will quickly summarize Josh's summary (a summarized summary? Huh?).

• Bush bonded with Kerik upon meeting him in New York immediately after 9/11. Kerik's gruff, "tough guy" image appealed to Bush's anti-elitist views.

• Kerik solidified his standing in the eyes of the Prez by helping organize the Iraqi Interior Ministry and aggressively campaigning for Bush's reelection.

• Josh views the example of Bush trusting his gut instinct over empirical evidence or fact as an example of one of the largest flaws of the Prez.

• Kerik's career, under further review, seems dotted with an almost limitless number of questionable actions and relationships.

As Josh says, "You can trust your instincts too much -- particularly if you have bad instincts."

Which, of course, reminds me of Bush's first take on his pal Putin...