Windmill Tilter

So it turns out that Ridge was just another clown in the administration who was saying and doing whatever was necessary to not piss off his bosses:

The Bush administration periodically put the USA on high alert for terrorist attacks even though then-Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge argued there was only flimsy evidence to justify raising the threat level, Ridge now says. Ridge, who resigned Feb. 1, said Tuesday that he often disagreed with administration officials who wanted to elevate the threat level to orange, or "high" risk of terrorist attack, but was overruled.

Just as others have done, he moved into an industry which he played a hand in enriching while he was in office:

In February 2005, Tom Ridge was named to the board of Home Depot. Critics of Ridge question this move, noting that Home Depot experienced a highly profitable run on duct tape and plastic sheeting after Ridge's controversial 2003 announcement proclaiming these items to be viable protection from chemical weapons. Many Home Depot stores set up Homeland Security product displays near the front of the store in response.

It's not the most serious transgression, and it strikes one as amateurish (especially when compared to cynically profiting off of a war, and of course there is the inverse), but he should nonetheless be commended for trying. Good effort Mr. Ridge.