Ignorance is Bliss

So excuse me if I am not overly enthusiastic about the appointment of Tommy Thompson, former secretary of health and Human Services (can anyone say Katrina fiasco?) as independent counsel for the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's newly created Safety and Integrity Alliance. Excuse me if I am also less than ecstatic over the Alliance itself, but that is fodder for another post.

For now, let's just concentrate on Thompson's credentials which made him the top choice for this post in which he will lead a team that will monitor the progress of the Alliance and issue an annual report on his findings.

According to the Wall Street Journal online, Thompson's experience with horse racing consists of his fractional ownership in a horse named Flashy Bull, which he got into because he "was at the Kentucky Derby one year as a spectator" and asked one of hosts, "How do you get involved in horse racing?" This curiosity resulted in what he refers to as owning "the tail" of Flashy Bull, who had some success on the track but ultimately broke a bone in his leg.

In addition to these stellar credentials, I repeat what Thompson himself told the WSJ about his qualifications: "I was the secretary of Health and Human Service and was there when 9/11 and all those other things had to be taken care of. I was responsible for the FDA. I was governor for 15 years. I'm a farmer. I had an interest in Flashy Bull. I've been passionate about horse racing. Plus, my law firm, Akin Gump, does this kind of work. We've done it for the NFL in the past and for all kinds of investigations into government."

As they say, truth is often stranger than fiction. Do these credentials sound at all like the "all boys club" appointments that politicians are so good at? Reminiscent at all of the "friend" one vice presidential candidate appointed to be secretary of Agriculture in her state because she liked cows? In line with the very Crony-esque way of doing business in our nation's capitol where appointments are often found to be based on connections rather than qualifications?

I pose these questions because, in my mind, Thompson is perhaps one of the least qualified individuals to fill this position and my guess is that the reports his firm produces will do nothing more than pay lip service to the NTRA's efforts at Safety and Integrity.

Just to underscore my reaction, I leave you with Thompson's answer to the WSJ's question about the role of Native Dancer's bloodline in propagating a weaker thoroughbred. "I haven't heard about Native Dancer," says our intrepid appointee. What about the fen-phen lawyers who invested in Curlin? "I've never heard of them." he continues.

Doesn't bode too well for objective, informed critiques from a knowledgeable source.