There’s little doubt: Cronyism is not a compliment.

President Bush rewarded Harriet Miers, a longtime (and loyal) confidante for her allegiance with a Supreme Court nomination. Funny story – didn’t work out quite as planned. Michael Brown, former Federal Emergency Management Agency director, was buddy to Bush’s 2000 campaign manager, Joe Allbaugh. Reading the news for the last couple of weeks, you’d think that Bush had appointed every half-wit friend to every government post imaginable.

But these high-profile burnouts obscure that cronyism is engrained in the structure of government, and it’s not always a bad thing. A president must be confident that the people he appoints will carry out his wishes. Further, those who deal with the president’s various deputies must have confidence that officials speak for and with the backing of the administration. Cryonism, for all its negative connotations, ensures these important cross-loyalties.

I like Colin Powell a lot, but he was a terrible secretary of state. Not because his philosophies were weak or his abilities limited, but because the lack of mutual trust between him and the administration hampered his ability to speak and act on Bush’s behalf. In 2003, he spoke before the United Nations on the dangers of Saddam Hussein’s WMD program (funny story about that, too) while it was public knowledge that he was opposed to intervention. He’s since described the speech as a ‘blot’ on his record. Not only did Powell damage his credibility, he weakened the administration’s message with his lack of conviction. Longtime Bush confidante Condoleezza Rice now has Powell’s job.

The ultimate example of cronyism gone right can be found in a Democratic administration. John F. Kennedy appointed his little brother, his own flesh and blood, as attorney general. At the age of 35, Robert F. Kennedy assumed the post as the nation’s highest law enforcement officer without ever holding elected office.

Imagine the blood Democrats would be calling for if Neil Bush was nominated for the Supreme Court.

The president (or mayor or governor or chancellor) has a duty to appoint people who are smart and qualified. But none of that matters without trust.