'Brownie' Points

Michael Brown is on his way back to Washington, and presumably eventually out of his job. Before he exits the scene, though, here's a little factoid, from the background materials he submitted for the record of his June 19, 2002 confirmation hearing to be FEMA's deputy director:

Q. To your knowledge, have you ever been investigated, arrested, charged or convicted (including pleas of guilty or nolo contendre) by any federal, state or other law enforcement authority for violation of any federal, state, county or municipal law, other than a minor traffic offense? If so, provide details.

A. Yes, in August 2000, a neighbor filed a complaint with the local sheriff's office because on of our St. Bernard dogs escaped our "invisible fence" system. The municipal judge dismissed the charge upon payment of court costs.

By the way, the whole hearing was pretty much a bipartisan lovefest, with nary a senator raising any questions about Brown's previous tenure at the International Arabian Horse Association.

Say what you want about Brown's performance, but the uproar about his alleged lack of credentials is a little silly in the sense that he was more qualified than many appointees to be director of his agency, because of his years of experience at FEMA. (Indeed, at his deputy director hearing, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, then the chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee, said, "I am glad the president has nominated someone already familiar with FEMA’s mission to become deputy director.") The only time it would have made sense for the horse thing to come up was when then-FEMA director Joe Allbaugh hired Brown as general counsel in 2001. But it wasn't as if Brown didn't have a legal background, so who would've cared?