John Reed on the Citigroup fiasco: 'Sorry' is the easiest word

"I would compartmentalize the industry for the same reason you compartmentalize ships," he said. "If you have a leak, the leak doesn't spread and sink the whole vessel. So generally speaking you'd have consumer banking separate from trading bonds and equity."

Nice analogy. He must have done well on that part of the SAT. But here's the worst part: If you read between the lines, he actually defended his advocacy of repealing the Glass-Steagall Act, even though he now says that was a mistake. "When you're running a company, you do what you think is right for the stockholders. Right now I'm looking at this as a citizen."

Well at least he's honest about how he bent the political system to his advantage with no regard for the interests of citizens.

And yet Mr. Reed was still able to conduct that interview from his office on Park Avenue. Here's an idea: Give up your office, sell all your stuff, and send every penny you have to the United States government to help compensate us for the Citigroup bailout that became necessary, in part, because of your actions. Then maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to respond to your apology with something other than an eye roll.