Bringing Nukes to a Knife Fight?

Charles Krauthammer comes down strongly in favor of appointing Daniel Pipes to the U.S. Institute of Peace:

Who is Daniel Pipes? Pipes is a former professor at the U.S. Naval War College. He has taught history and Islamic studies at Harvard and the University of Chicago. He is a scholar and the author of 12 books, four of which are on Islam. Unlike most of the complacent and clueless Middle East academic establishment, which specializes in the brotherhood of man and the perfidy of the United States, Pipes has for years been warning that the radical element within Islam posed a serious and growing threat to the United States.

Warbloggers, of course, are quite familiar with Dr. Pipes and his impressive record — not to mention his lucid writing. So here’s the bit that stings:

President Bush is considering bypassing the Senate and giving Pipes a recess appointment while Congress is out of town. For Bush, this would be an act of characteristic principle and courage. The problem, however, is that such an act makes the appointment look furtive. Worse, it lets the McCarthyites off too easy.

Indeed. Pipes deserves a loud public hearing, with just as much rancor on his behalf as we’ve already heard against him, from the likes of Ted Kennedy, Chris Dodd, and Tom Harkin. While a recess appointment would certainly be a case of the ends justifying the means, it wouldn’t do anything to solve the public-perceptions problem.

Let’s see just how much pull Krauthammer has these days.