The American Spectator

Washington Prowler

(Page 2 of 2)

campaigned openly for the vice presidential slot on the Bush ticket. He campaigned for the Attorney General slot. He campaigned for the director of the FBI position. All for naught. But give Keating this. He's unbowed in his desire to serve the Bush administration. /p>

Now Keating supporters are floating his name to replace Harvey Pitt as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. "He'd be perfect. He'd be tough, out front and everyone from Wall Street to main street would trust him," says a parser of soundbites for Keating in Oklahoma. "He wants the job."

But is he qualified? The same goes for former New York Mayor and GOP superstar Rudy Giuliani. But forget him: he's not eager to touch a tar baby like the SEC and would rather take on a higher profile gig in Washington if something were to come along.

Insiders say the strongest candidate may already be on the commission: Paul Atkins, who was a staffer for the commission and a counsel to both former SEC chairmen Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt. Atkins was a Bush appointee to the SEC earlier this year, and received a comparatively warm reception from Senate Democrats and Republicans.

topics:
Law, NATO