Harvard MBAs

The Vega hasn't concerned itself much (and don't you, Dear Reader, love it when the Vega refers to itself as "The Vega?")...as I was saying, haven't taken much notice of the proceedings down in Houston as I distrust these kinds of show trials. Regardless of the outcome, Skilling and Lay are ruined, though I'm sure they've got plenty more than their Enron stockholders do hidden away in off-shore nooks and tropical crannies. And whether they get five months or fifty years, their fate is sure to serve as a cautionary tale until the next rack of greedheads comes along to dupe an easily duped greedy stockholding public.

I did say to Madame Cura, as we watched Triumph of the Will the other night, that the now-famous "E" at Enron's Houston headquarters had an uncanny resemblence to the swastikas in the picture, which were also tilted on their axis.

But I digress.

Something struck me as I was reading about Skilling's testimony the other day.

Well, what did you expect him to say?.... For most of the time on the witness stand, Mr. Skilling seemed smaller than life. He often wore a timid, tentative facial expression, a little like a third grader hoping not to be reprimanded by the teacher. But at least once a day he would have momentary meltdowns, and all the bitterness, sarcasm and self-pity would creep to the surface -- only to be damped back down by Mr. Petrocelli. In the course of answering a question about Mr. Fastow's crimes, for instance, Mr. Skilling took an unprompted swipe at the F.B.I. -- an incredibly foolhardy thing to do in front of a jury. When you're on the witness stand, fighting for your life, there is nothing more important than being disciplined in what you say and how you act....

Again and again, I found myself astounded listening to him describe Enron's business practices. He wants to bring in an outside C.E.O. to run Enron's new (and ill-fated) broadband business, but as soon as his buddy Ken Rice says he'll quit if that happens, Mr. Skilling folds like a cheap suit. Instead, he gives the job to the utterly unqualified Mr. Rice.... Mr. Fastow approaches him about setting up a partnership to do business with Enron. He blithely tells Mr. Fastow to work something up and bring it to him -- as if this extraordinary concept, so filled with conflicts and so easily abused -- is no big deal. He has a budget meeting with Lou L. Pai, the head of a poorly performing division called Enron Energy Services. The previous year, the division lost $69 million. Mr. Pai is projecting $50 million in profits for the next year, but Mr. Skilling thinks he's being "sandbagged," and tells Mr. Pai he wants $100 million. Why? Not because he knows anything about how the business is actually performing....

In the many detailed discussions about all the deals Enron did with Mr. Fastow's partnerships this last week, one thing usually was left out. Rarely did Mr. Skilling try to explain their underlying economic rationale. He acted instead as if Enron's dealings with those partnerships were as common as a thing could be, so ordinary they barely needed explaining. But of course that wasn't remotely true. What was extraordinary about those deals was they had no underlying economic purpose. They only had an accounting purpose. They existed to disguise the truth. If Mr. Skilling understands that fact, then he's a crook. If he doesn't, he's a fool. Either way, he should never have been in charge of Enron...

I found myself thinking, hmmm, I know that guy from somewhere.

Oh yeah.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

Well, you know the president on Friday interrupted his Easter vacation at Camp David in order to rush to the defense of his defense secretary, putting out a public statement saying he was fully behind the defense secretary, full public support despite these calls by the retired generals for Rumsfeld to step down. And in case there was any doubt about the president's support, just a few moments ago in the Rose Garden, the president came out even more forcefully behind Rumsfeld. This came after the president had denounced speculation about potential personnel changes. I pressed the president on the fact that he himself had commented on Friday about a potential personnel change. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Mr. President, you make it a practice of not commenting on potential personnel move.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Of course, I did.

HENRY: Calling it speculation.

BUSH: And you can understand why. Because we've got people's reputations at stake. And on Friday I stood up and said I don't appreciate the speculation about Don Rumsfeld. He's doing a fine job. I strongly support him.

HENRY: But what do you say to critics who believe that you're ignoring the advice of retired generals, military commanders, who say that there needs to be a change?

BUSH: I say I listen to all voices, but mine's the final decision and Don Rumsfeld is doing a fine job. He's not only transforming the military, he's fighting a war on terror. He's helping us fight a war on terror. I have strong confidence in Don Rumsfeld. I hear the voices and I read the front page and I know the speculation, but I'm the decider and I decide what is best and what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense. I want to thank you all very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Via Digby, who's got more to say.

And it hit me...Skilling and Bush have something significant in common: Both are alums of that most elite of elite institutions, Harvard Business School.