LET'S MOVE IT ALONG

A little more than two months ago, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., nominated longtime aide Jonathan Adelstein to fill the unexpired term of FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani. Adelstein, who has worked in the Senate for 14 years, appears to be highly regarded in Washington. One D.C.-based industry analyst predicted that Adelstein's confirmation by the Senate would be a “slam dunk.” That's why President Bush needs to get around to making the official nomination. The president obviously has been preoccupied since Sept. 11, but the FCC has been working from a weakened and unbalanced position since Tristani's resignation four months ago. The FCC is a political body, and no matter how distasteful and counterproductive it may be, political bodies tend to operate along party lines. Normally, commissioners in the minority only have to sway one commissioner to their side. The Tristani vacancy forces a dissenting commissioner to turn two colleagues. This gives the Republican-nominated commissioners too much power. Adelstein appears to be a qualified candidate. President Bush should accelerate his nomination: Four months is too long for the FCC to be short a commissioner. After all, four months is the amount of time the recovery workers needed to clear the surface of the World Trade Center site, a job many thought would take as long as two years.