I have not always agreed with your policies. But we're all human. You even apologized for the financial crisis and the Iraq War. This makes me think you've got legacy on your mind. If so, consider this: there is no way that pardoning Mike Milken, Bernie Ebbers and Conrad Black before you leave office will boost your legacy.
Granted, those pardons would be far less significant to historians than the things you've already apologized for, but why add to your post-presidential aggravation? Here are the reasons not to pardon these three:
- Milken - As i posted, Milken paid $650 million in fines and went to jail from March 1991 until January 1993 for securities law violations. He's a white-collar crook who's spent decades trying to burnish his image. It has not worked on me.
- Ebbers - Bernie Ebbers was convicted of orchestrating an $11 billion accounting fraud that brought WorldCom into bankruptcy, making it the second biggest in history. Lehman Brothers' recent $639 billion tops the list.
- Black - Black formerly headed Hollinger International Inc and was a member of Britain's House of Lords. He was found guilty of defrauding shareholders and entered prison in March 2008.
In case we don't talk before you leave office, enjoy those last few weeks and best wishes to you and your Good Bride in Dallas.
Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter.











Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-04-2008 @ 12:28PM
Melvin Almond said...
Congress has found a new word Mr president, it is accountability, please do not poardon these people.
Many suffered because of them, it is not right for them to have thier slate wiped clean.
Accountability, accountability.
12-04-2008 @ 12:40PM
gerkenfj said...
A MODERN PARABLE . .
A Japanese company ( Toyota ) and an American company (Ford) decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River . Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race.
On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.
The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action.
Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 8 people steering and 1 person rowing.
Feeling a deeper study was in order, American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion.
They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.
Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 3 area steering superintendents, and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager.
They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 1 person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the 'Rowing Team Quality First Program,' with meetings, dinners, and free pens for the rower . There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes, and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses.
The next year the Japanese won by two miles.
Humiliated, the American management laid off the rower for poor performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses and the next year's racing team was out-sourced to India .
Sadly, The End.
Here's something else to think about:
Ford has spent the last thirty years moving all its factories out of the US , claiming they can't make money paying American wages.
TOYOTA has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants inside the US . The last quarter's results:
TOYOTA makes 4 billion in profits while Ford racked up 9 billion in losses.
Ford folks are still scratching their heads.
IF THIS WEREN'T TRUE, IT MIGHT BE FUNNY.
12-04-2008 @ 12:43PM
bud said...
bail out big 3 let the theives rot in jail
12-04-2008 @ 1:36PM
Scott said...
The only way I'd ever grant him a pardon is if he has a medical condition that is going to cost us taxpayers a load of money. Then I'd let him free and leave it up to his family to pay the medical bills.
12-08-2008 @ 6:17PM
Jon said...
I say let Bernie out. 11-Billion is nothing compared to what we are paying now. If the government was this generous in 2000, MCI would have just asked for the money and no one would have blinked an eye. Atleast Bernie has served some time, these crooks are getting away with a lot more than 11-billion.