Mr. President, we are soon approaching your first anniversary in office. And like the rest of America, you can make some New Year's resolutions and even keep some of them. You ran on a platform of change and I urge you to embrace your own mantra and make some important ones now. After all, one year in office and just after the New Year's makes it the perfect time clean house.

Given recent events, the most obvious change would be replacing Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. While a great governor of Arizona, she lacks experience in the military, intelligence and relief communities which unfortunately leaves her a bit unqualified to head this branch of government that handles everything from terrorism to hurricanes. If we are to be honest, the position was a reward for her early support of your campaign. Granted, I believe those who support you should be among the first to consider in key positions. However, in these troubled times, Homeland Security is just not a good fit for the distinguished governor.

Her handling of the Northwest Airlines terrorist incident was bumbling at best and embarrassing at worst. Given that it was the busiest travel time of the year with our nation's airways filled with families, her contradictory statements were not reassuring at all. Even the most basic politico knows that if a bomb made it on a plane, the system did not work as she proclaimed to the press. Although she backtracked and said she meant that "after the incident the system worked," the damage was done. People who show their inabilities to grasp the intricacies of national security issues should not be placed in such high profile positions of power. This agency has to deal with the Pentagon, the elusive CIA, FBI and a huge number of powerful agencies. Simply put, Napolitano has no history in these areas.

There is a perfect replacement: Jane Harman (photograph above), the tough, intelligent, take-no-prisoners Democratic congresswoman from Southern California. She is Chair of the House Intelligence Subcommittee and has served on the Armed Forces Committee in the past. The congresswoman has a long history of working with all the agencies involved and holding many of them accountable in tough hearings. She understands the dynamics of all the interplay between them which in itself is a miracle. Harman would initiate a no-nonsense approach to fighting terrorism. Indeed, were she to have had Napolitano's job, heads would have rolled this week over our intelligence failures to stop the Northwest bomber!

There are so many more places you can make changes and I will address them leading up to your first anniversary in office. However, making this powerful both effective and symbolic change would be a big step in saying to yourself, "Yes, I Can."