NANNYGATE REVISITED?

You may remember that during the Clinton Administration a number of nominations for high posts were derailed when it was discovered that they employed illegal aliens as nannies, or those nannies were being paid under the table, or both. Last night, the Bush Administration was seemingly struck by the same problem...

WASHINGTON (AP) - In a surprise move, former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik abruptly withdrew his nomination as President Bush's choice to be homeland security secretary Friday night, saying questions have arisen about the immigration status of a housekeeper and nanny he employed.

The decision caught the White House off guard and sent Bush in search of a new candidate to run the sprawling bureaucracy of more than 180,000 employees melded together from 22 disparate federal agencies in 2003.

If this is the actual reason for Kerik's withdrawal (and having read about his background I suspect there are a number of other potentially more troublesome problems that could crop up much more serious than employing an illegal alien as a nanny) it points out again one of the main reasons we have a problem with illegal immigration in this country. There are far too many employers who, for reasons of expediency, are willing to flout the law in order to get their business done. Even people who otherwise are law-abiding and responsible, even leading, members of the community. As I discussed on WBZ the other night, this is actually also another argument for a practical guest worker program, which is what the President favors.