But Can he Knock Wood?

I'm hoping he can bring some solid earth-tones to the national color code system.

The 49-year-old Kerik's path to the top homeland security position, where he will replace Tom Ridge, was unconventional, but he campaigned arduously for Bush this year.

A military policeman in South Korea in the 1970s, Kerik's first anti-terrorism work was as a paid private security worker in Saudi Arabia. He joined the New York Police Department in 1986, first walking a beat in Times Square when it was still a haven for small-time hustlers.

He eventually was tapped to lead the city's corrections department, and was appointed police commissioner in 2000.

It was in that position that he became known to the rest of the country, supervising the NYPD's response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, often at the side of then-mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Kerik helped repair a department that lost 23 members and became a steady hand for a population deeply shaken by the attacks.

Most recently, he has been a consultant for Giuliani Partners, working to rebuild Baghdad's police force.

Well, that last one was certainly about as successful as a Giuliani marriage.

At least 26 people, including 12 policemen, were killed in double attacks in Baghdad as US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld admitted that he had underestimated the Iraq insurgency.

At least 12 Iraqi policemen were killed in an attack on a police station in Baghdad's western Al-Amel district, while at least 14 people were killed in a suicide car bombing in the capital's northern Al-Adhamiya district.

This certainly bodes well.