It's good to be veep

OPINION OF PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE: "The nomination of Vice President Dick Cheney's son-in-law as top lawyer at the Department of Homeland Security, coupled with the appointment of Cheney's daughter to a senior State Department post, are a strain of nepotism not usually seen in American government.

Recently, President Bush nominated Philip J. Perry, Elizabeth Cheney's husband, to be general counsel at Homeland Security. If the appointment is confirmed by the Senate, he would leave a partnership at the Los Angeles-based law firm Latham & Watkins. Among the clients his firm represents in Washington is Lockheed Martin, one of Homeland Security's top 10 contractors.

Elizabeth Cheney also feeds at the government trough. She is currently principal deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs and coordinator for broader Middle East and North Africa initiatives. She was appointed to that post in February by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

A lobbyist for a major Homeland Security contractor shouldn't have a friendly insider at the department, and someone with no background in the subject shouldn't be in charge of U.S. initiatives to improve relations with the Middle East and North Africa. "