Matt Drudge may have summed it up best with his headline, “On second thought, Mr. President.” And just like that, Bernard Kerik – the former NYC top cop who even had the support of Hillary Clinton – is out of consideration for Secretary of Homeland Security, a job that was assuredly his just 48 hours ago.

So who to top the department now?

Some thoughts:

Asa Hutchinson, the current #2 guy, is a seasoned politician, loyal Republican, and has excellent experience in the department

Rudy Giuliani would be an interesting pick, though word is that he is holding out to run for Commander in Chief in ’08.

John McCain would be stellar, if the governor of Arizona would agree to appoint a Republican to the senate to replace him.

John Danforth, who recently resigned as US Ambassador to the UN, was reportedly holding out for the Secretary of State post, but might be willing to take this spot.

William Cohen, a Republican from Maine who was President Clinton’s Secretary of Defense, would be an interesting bi-partisan choice.

James Carafano, The Heritage Foundation’s Senior Research Fellow for Defense and Homeland Security, knows the turf extremely well and would make for a stellar non-political selection. (Full disclosure: I am a former Heritage intern, and still serve as a book critic to Townhall.com, a website operated by the foundation.)

George Pataki, the governor of New York, stumped hard for President Bush on the campaign trail, and has experience insofar as he was running the state on 9/11. Drawback: New York may never again elect a Republican governor.

And finally, it is worth noting that both Casper Weinberger and Henry Kissinger are still alive.