According to two recent polls, a majority of Americans think (a) Bush is owned by Corporate America and (b) Gore-Lieberman should not run again in 2004. Looks like the electorate is batting 1000 this morning.
Category: Enron, Etc.
Cheney’s Harken.
Lot of Enrongate coverage today, I know…but I’ve been out of it for a few days. Here’s a good recap on Cheney’s Halliburton shadiness.
Making Pitt stop.
John McCain devours Dubya crony and SEC chairman Robert Pitt (whom Dubya has ill-advisedly embraced despite the calls for his resignation) on Meet the Press.
Fortunate Son.
In the wake of WorldCom, industry experts doubt FCC Chairman Michael Powell’s ability and desire to put the brakes on the telecom meltdown.
Rescue attempts.
While Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan tries to assuage the market (something Dubya is seemingly incapable of), the Senate and House pass measures to stifle corporate malfeasance (and the stock market free-fall), thanks to a Republican “deathbed conversion.”
Do as I Say, Not as I Do.
Dubya calls for the end of a corporate loophole he himself profited from back in his Harken days. Meanwhile, this being an election year (and since I’m sure their profiles aren’t doing so hot right now), the Senate voted unanimously on several measures to curtail corporate malfeasance, a number of which go further than Dubya desired.
Running for Cover.
“In the long run, there’s no capitalism without conscience. There is no wealth without character.” I dunno, Mr. President…you seemed to do pretty well for yourself. In his much-anticipated speech yesterday, Dubya tried to put the brakes on the Wall Street sell-off and quell the growing questions surrounding his own stock shadiness (timeline here.) Needless to say, it didn’t seem to work.
Sinking deeper.
As Worldcom execs take the fifth and both Congress and the Dubya administration prep for damage control (for the latter, in a Wall Street speech tomorrow,) White House strategists look desperately for a way to avoid being hoisted by their own petard. Says Dubya of his Vice-President, who’s in deep with the Halliburton scandal: “There are good actors and there are bad actors; he’s one of the good guys.” May work for terrorists, George…doesn’t work so well for executive profiteers.
Corporate Finance Reform.
Meanwhile, John McCain weighs in on the corporate scandals and calls for the resignation of SEC Chairman (Dubya flunky) Robert Pitt. (Via the swankily redesigned Medley.)
Hitting .333.
Frank Rich weighs in with another discerning op-ed on Enrongate, in which he notes that the Bush administration has significant ties to FIVE of the companies currently under scrutiny – Enron, Halliburton, Andersen, KMPG and Merrill Lynch (which is why, of course, Dubya keeps talking about WorldCom.)