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The prez does Wall Street And Then He Should Have SaidBy Rick Horowitz
The speech we didn't hear:
"Corporate executives, managers and entrepreneurs, fellow citizens: Thanks for inviting me to be with you this morning here on Wall Street. It's a real honor to be standing here in the midst of America's -- and the world's -- financial nerve center. "So let me say to you: You've got a lot of nerve! "If some of you hadn't gotten so flat-out greedy, we wouldn't be in this fix, and I wouldn't be up here scolding you and telling you to clean up your act. But noooooo: A few of you had to have it all, didn't you? So now we're all in trouble. The voters are angry. The Democrats are licking their lips. And now I'm even having to defend my own business deals! You think I like doing that? "We're meeting this morning just a few short steps from where those twin towers once stood so proudly, a shining symbol of American optimism and confidence. None of us will ever forget the sight of those towers collapsing, and let me assure you: I have no intention of letting my poll numbers collapse like that. And if it means coming here and talking tough to my fellow MBAs, then that's just what I'm gonna do, and you're gonna sit there and take it, at least until they turn the cameras off. "I don't remember who the genius was who decided I should have a news conference as soon as I got back from vacation -- I guess they figured we had to do something to knock those WorldCom execs off the front page. I mean, there's nothing like a bunch of fancy suits taking the Fifth Amendment to calm the markets down, right? So I make my opening statement, and I pound on the Senate for stalling my agenda, and then I open it up to the reporters and it's 'Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!' Harken this and Aloha that and -- "I'll tell you: You know you're having a bad day when it's a relief to get a question about Osama bin Laden! "Which reminds me, speaking of Evil Ones: John McCain. That was the other reason to throw me out there on such short notice -- my good friend John McCain was in the New York Times telling everyone I should dump Harvey Pitt. Thanks a lot, John! "It's not like John McCain gets up at 6 o'clock every morning trying to figure out ways to torment me. I sure some days he sleeps until 6:30. "So anyway, I want you and the American people to know that when it comes to corporate responsibility, I'm in favor of it. And when it comes to corporate irresponsibility, I'm against it. And when it comes to telling the difference -- well, as I said in the news conference, sometimes things aren't exactly black and white. "Sometimes it's just an honest disagreement about accounting procedures. Me with this Harken thing, Cheney with Halliburton -- those are perfect examples of honest disagreements about accounting procedures. What some of you did? You better get yourself a good lawyer. "Now, in saying it's not always black and white, I don't mean to suggest that I don't share the goals of even the most vocal of these so-called reformers -- I certainly do. We just differ on some of the means to accomplish those goals. They favor tough new laws. I favor hall monitors. "But whatever our approach, we all agree that it's time to crack down on corporate wrongdoers, even if the seeds for these bad apples were planted years ago, during a previous administration. Not that I would ever try to blame this kind of sleazy behavior on the shady ethics and low moral standards of Bill Clinton and his cronies. "I'll leave that to my staff. "Thank you, and God bless free enterprise!" Posted 7/9/02. Visiting
"Rick's" is a profitable way to spend your time. (And it's all perfectly
legal!)
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Rick Horowitz
