Being intelligent and having common sense are two different vastly things as his supporters are finding out. When it comes to intelligence vs. common sense I'll take the latter everytime!!!!
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Mudd at a Capitol Hill hearing on counterterrorism issues in 2004.
The Case Of The Disappearing Nominee
Why did Obama's candidate for a key intel job pull out?
Published Jun 5, 2009
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Officials at the White House and in the intelligence community are baffled and disquieted by the sudden withdrawal of the Obama administration's nominee for the top intelligence job at the Department of Homeland Security.
In late April, President Obama announced his intention to nominate Philip Mudd, a career CIA officer who since 2005 had been a top counterterrorism official at the FBI, to become homeland-security undersecretary for intelligence and analysis. Confirmation hearings—possibly by two overlapping Senate committees—were expected to start in the near future.
On Friday, however, the White House and Mudd both issued statements saying that Mudd had decided to withdraw his name from consideration. The announcements were made less than a day after the Associated Press ran a story reporting that Mudd was likely to face questions about his involvement in the CIA's controversial interrogation and detention programs, which have been terminated by Obama.
In a statement announcing his withdrawal, Mudd expressed concern that he could become a political liability. "If I continue to move forward, I will become a distraction to the president and his vital agenda," he wrote. Nick Shapiro, a White House spokesman, said Obama had accepted Mudd's decision "with sadness and regret," adding: "The president believes that Phil Mudd would have been an excellent undersecretary for intelligence and analysis but understands his personal decision and the choice he has made."
Sean Smith, assistant secretary of homeland security for public affairs, said: "Phil Mudd would have been an outstanding undersecretary, and we are disappointed by his decision but accept it."
Two administration officials, who asked for anonymity when discussing a politically sensitive issue, said that Mudd was not pushed by the White House or other policymakers to withdraw from consideration for the job, which had previously been occupied by Charles Allen, himself a legendary former CIA officer.
The Homeland Security Department doesn't have a division specifically assigned to collect intelligence. The main responsibility of the office that Mudd would have led is to sort through dispatches from agencies with operatives in the field who do produce intelligence-related reporting—including such Homeland agencies as the Secret Service, the Coast Guard and various immigration agencies—looking for indications of possible terror threats to targets inside the United States.
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