Saturday, January 24, 2009

Once a Yes man, always a Yes man

New York Times analysis of the leadership crisis at Bank of America following its disastrous takeover of Merrill Lynch --

Still, the Bank of America board, whose ranks include the mayor of Spartanburg, S.C.; a retired general, Tommy R. Franks; and the former chairman and chief executive of Lowe’s, has offered up no signals that it has lost confidence in its leader.

Tommy Franks was George Bush's top general for the invasion of Iraq, got a Presidential Medal of Freedom early on in the still unwon war, and felt strongly enough about George Bush's leadership skills to campaign for his reeelection in 2004, barely out of his uniform. And whatever experience his career gave him in invading countries, it's didn't give him much in finance.

Could it be that his never-disagree-with-the-boss approach to Iraq was his single qualification to be on the board of Bank of America?

No comments: