Rudy responds to the report in today's Daily News about the impending indictment of Bernie Kerik, his man in One Police Plaza:

"The reality is, if we take a look at Bernard Kerik's service as police commissioner, he was an excellent police commissioner. Crime went down unexpectedly under Bernard Kerik.

"Then on the other side of it, there were these problems. I take the responsibility. We should have known about them. We should have dealt with them. We didn't. It was my mistake. I made it. I am sorry for it. I've learned from it. But in the balance of things, you take a look at the success that I had, it must be that I am generally picking the right people. Because I am sure not doing this by myself."

Just to point this out one more time, Rudy also personally recommended to George Bush that he appoint Kerik as chief of the Department of Homeland Security. That's kind of a key appointment for a President. So this seems like a worthwhile fact to keep in mind about Rudy the Presidential candidate, particularly since he's telling us that he's the guy best equipped to handle what he calls the Terrorists' War Against Us.