Governor Napolitano was wrapping Christmas packages Dec. 14 when she saw a television report that American military forces had captured Saddam Hussein.

“Capturing Saddam Hussein was wonderful,” she said at her Dec. 16 news briefing. “It needed to happen to move Iraq forward in the sense of beginning to have stability and so forth. Getting him off the table was very, very important.”

Ms. Napolitano said she had no opinion on who should try the former Iraqi leader.

And the governor said she was not sure what effect Hussein’s capture would have on the campaigns of Democratic presidential candidates. Ms. Napolitano did not meet with former Vermont governor Howard Dean when he stumped in the state Dec. 16.

The governor was asked for a reaction to criticism that Mr. Dean has kept his personal papers as governor private.

“Apparently it’s a tradition in Vermont,” she said. “In Arizona, we have such a broad public records law that I wouldn’t have the option, even if I wanted to do. Weve always operated as a very open government.” —