Joe Conason:

Michael Chertoff possesses the impressive résumé and aggressive bearing of a big-time official, but as Secretary of Homeland Security, he behaves more like a small-time hack. His feeble judgment in matters of policy, personnel and politics—first demonstrated in the wake of Hurricane Katrina last year—has proved that he was never qualified to protect the United States from terrorism and natural disaster.

Last week, he suddenly reminded the nation of his manifest incompetence, after his department released a bizarrely skewed list of security grants to cities and counties. Municipalities that confront the most significant threats will lose many millions in funding, while those least likely to face attack will receive additional millions.

Go read the whole thing.

Michael Brown was the fall guy for Katrina, and it is increasingly clear that Chertoff should have fallen with him.