A preliminary recommendation on how to select a new leader for the N.C. Highway Patrol will disappoint critics who have called for an end to good ol’ boy politics. But it may be the best we can get for now.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the recommendation this week before it was released to the public.

A three-person panel says the Highway Patrol will suffer if the commander’s office remains unfilled until the 2011 session of the N.C. General Assembly.

That’s a shame for a lot of reasons. The Patrol’s reputation has suffered mightily because of the actions of a few reckless troopers. Compounding the problem has been Col. Randy Glover, who used a press conference to blame the media for the Patrol’s problems, rather than initiate the kind of clean sweep the agency desperately needs.

Gov. Bev Perdue is required by state law to select Glover’s replacement from within the ranks of the Patrol. But Glover and Perdue came under scrutiny from critics who argued that Perdue played favorites when she chose Glover in the first place. How can anyone expect that kind of go-along to get-along culture to change if the governor is required by law to stay within the ranks when choosing his successor?

The best thing the panel has going for it is its makeup — law professor Julius Chambers, former N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Burley Mitchell and former FBI agent Chris Swecker, who played a key role in uncovering terrible practices in the State Bureau of Investigation crime lab. The Associate Press reported that the panel has spelled out procedures that, on paper, would push Perdue to eschew politics when making her selection.

We look forward to reading more about the details of those procedures, but until then, we have our doubts about the process.

The Highway Patrol desperately needs a make-over. Finding someone from outside of the department to lead the change would have been a good — and logical — place to start.