Bush on Ken Lay: He Was ‘A Good Guy’
Bush on Ken Lay: He Was ‘A Good Guy’
Yesterday, Larry King asked President Bush about his reactions to the death of Ken Lay. While President Bush said he was “disappointed…he betrayed the trust of shareholders,” he described Lay as “a good guy.” Watch it:
Transcript:
KING: The death of Ken Lay.
G. BUSH: Yes, yes.
KING: I know he was your friend. How do you feel? Were you shocked?
G. BUSH: I was. I was very surprised. You know, just — my hope is that his heart was right with the Lord, and I feel real sorry for his wife. She’s had a rough go, and she’s now here on earth to bear the burdens of losing her husband, a man she loved.
KING: Was that whole thing, the whole Enron story shocking to you?
G. BUSH: Yes, yes.
KING: Because, I mean, you knew him pretty well from Texas, right?
G. BUSH: Pretty well, pretty well. I knew him. I got to know him. This — people don’t believe this, but he actually supported Ann Richards in the ‘94 campaign.
KING: She told me that.
G. BUSH: She did?
KING: She liked him a lot.
G. BUSH: Yes, he’s a good guy. And so what I did — then did was we had a business council, and I kept him on as the chairman of the business council. And, you know, got to know him and got to see him in action.
One of the things I respected him for was he was such a contributor to Houston’s civil society. He was a generous person. I’m disappointed that there was this — he betrayed the trust of shareholders, but…
KING: Did you know him well, Mrs. Bush?
L. BUSH: I knew him. Not really well, but I did know him.
KING: Did you know his wife?
L. BUSH: And I know Linda and I’m sorry for her.
KING: Did you contact her?
L. BUSH: I haven’t.
G. BUSH: I haven’t yet. I’m going to write her a letter at some point in time.
heckuva job, kenny
July 7th, 2006 at 10:08 amHe was my Sugar Daddy, said King dumbya. I know, I have the checks to prove it.
Yup, American Democracy for sale to the highest bidder with bushco. What a surprise….
July 7th, 2006 at 10:09 amI’m disappointed that there was this this man, the decider he called himself — he betrayed the trust of the America for a warped political ideology, but he was a ‘good guy.’
not.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:15 amHe sure was a good guy.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:16 amDo you know how much money he contributed to my campaign?
Wow! He was a Pioneer & a Ranger…how many people out there
can claim that?
The fact he made his money screwing poor people on utility bills
isn’t political; it’s entrepeneurial. This is what makes America
strong. People have to find a new ways to make money, and Ken
sure did that.
We’re thinking of burying him under that big, crooked ‘E’ sign.
I think that would be appropriate. I mean, they kind of buried
Enron, so wouldn’t if be fitting to have Kenny Boy under it all?
I just feel sorry for his family. He provided well for them, and now
they may have to give me, I mean, the government, all those millions.
Ken’s brother, Frito, may get some, but I think the rest may have to
find jobs; that’s how bad it is.
He sure was a good man.
Yeah, sucks so much the way he betrayed those poor shareholders of the investor class. What about the thousands of employees and pensioners whose futures he ruined? And how he screwed the entire state of California? I bet they’re all thrilled about Lay’s generous contributions to Houston civil society.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:17 amThose comments were very appropriate.
He expressed disappointment for his crimes but was also respectful of his passing.
Did you want the President to trash him?
July 7th, 2006 at 10:18 amRelative to Cheney and Rummy…maybe he was a good guy.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:18 amGive me a break. I’m no fan of Bush, and no fan of Lay. But this is not news. And the family of someone who just died deserves a little respect. Let it go. And yes, even people who have major lapses in judgement can be “good guys.” It’s over the top for anyone who posts such nonsense - unless of course, they are pure as Ivory Snow themselves.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:19 amWhat a disgusting pair these two are.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:22 amChase,
No, no, no. You don’t get it. When a Republican dies, it’s only appropriate to make jokes and trash that person. For Bush to have done the “right” thing, he would have had to totally slander Lay on King’s show. It doesn’t matter if Lay was a “good guy” when the Bushes knew him best almost a decade ago. Once a criminal, always a criminal. Or something. You see, that’s why liberals want convicted felons to vote - they are “good” people. Errr…. wait a minute.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:25 am#8 - Yeah, maybe Bush should let whatever God he prays to be “the decider” this time and let him judge ‘ole Kenny Boy. I do have to admit….this isn’t very compelling news.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:26 amAnd yes, even people who have major lapses in judgement can be “good guys.â€
Lapse of judgement? Lapse? Are you kidding me?
Lay didn’t just make a mistake, jan. He swindled thousands of people and propped up his company’s stock on accounting lies. People who were holding on to their Enron stock in hopes of retiring with a nice nest egg are now spending their golden years looking for jobs. Meanwhile, Kenny sat back and smiled and said he knew nothing and it was all some big misunderstanding, while enjoying the lavish lifestyle while retirees found themselves submitting applications to McDonalds for employment.
Lapse of judgement? On what planet?
July 7th, 2006 at 10:27 amIt’s over the top for anyone who posts such nonsense - unless of course, they are pure as Ivory Snow themselves.
That is fine for personal relationships, but a ludicrous standard to apply in political and public discourse.
It is a ham fisted effort on your part to stifle legitimate outrage for the crimes that Ly committed against thousands.
It is also not at all what Jesus intended when he was defending a lone hoar against a bunch of self righteous prigs, indistinguishable from the kind of WASP that swells the ranks of the GOP.
These people, Lay as dead as he is as well, are detesable parasites and being dead does nothing to change that. Trash them I say, trash them good.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:30 amComing from the guy who said this, I don’t think the source of judging Ken Lay’s character is very credible:
“As you can possibly see, I have an injury myself — not here at the hospital, but in combat with a cedar. I eventually won. The cedar gave me a little scratch. As a matter of fact, the Colonel asked if I needed first aid when she first saw me. I was able to avoid any major surgical operations here, but thanks for your compassion, Colonel.”
—George W. Bush, after visiting with wounded veterans from the Amputee Care Center of Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas, Jan. 1, 2006
July 7th, 2006 at 10:30 amJan,
Here is some more non-news: Ken Lay personally stole a sizable fraction of a billion dollars and doing so destroyed the financial dreams of tens of thousands of people. Many Enron employees were completely devastated when they were not allowed to sell their stock, while Lay was able to dump his (and in the process defrauding the buyers of the stock). Ken Lay was not a good guy who had a major lapse in judgement. Ken Lay was a greedy criminal who abandoned morals and ethics wholesale. In short, Lay had become a pschopath.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:30 amAnd I thought Bush barely knew him, he said. I wish Charle McCarthey would make up his mind. Flip flop saw dust for brains
July 7th, 2006 at 10:31 am#10 - Re: “a good guy”
What else do you say when you’re the President, on primetime TV? Do you say “oh, he was an asshole” or “what a schmuck, huh Larry?” Of course not. You just say something gentle, something light and move on. He doesn’t want to talk about Lay.
Of course they were friends. Before his plummet from grace, Lay was talked about as a possible Secretary of the Treasury or Energy. At that time, they were buddies. But then it became public knowledge what was going on inside Enron and President Bush, or anyone for that matter, no longer had a professional relationship with Lay. What’s news about that?
Look. If I had a long-time friend who killed someone, I wouldn’t cease being his friend. I wouldn’t condone what he did, but I wouldn’t abandon him either.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:32 amG. BUSH: I haven’t yet. I’m going to write her a letter at some point in time.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:36 amWell, first he has to learn how to read…
Ronald Biggs he was a nice guy too
July 7th, 2006 at 10:37 amG. BUSH: I was. I was very surprised. You know, just — my hope is that his heart was right with the Lord,
July 7th, 2006 at 10:39 amGosh. I am sick with all this Religious speech crap! Poor idiot. He is very concerned about the fate of Lay´s soul whereas killing thousands of civilans. 2538 american soldiers appreciate that evangelic talk.
I’d stopped at a McDonald’s in Nevada, outside Reno shortly after the Enron scandal had been made public. There was an elderly man working there who was being yelled at by a bitchy teenager. I felt bad for him, as he seemed humiliated and tried to make a joke.
He told me that he had had to come out of retirement to take this job because he’d lost most of his life savings in the Enron scandal, and really, at his age, who was going to hire him except places like McDonald’s? And he had no choice but to work - or starve.
I have no sympathy for Ken Lay. I think he got off far easier than many of the people he scammed. I won’t celebrate his death, and I didn’t celebrate Zarqawi’s. But I also won’t say anything nice about him, as I said nothing nice about Zarqawi. The two men, for all intents and pruposes, wer cut from the same cloth.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:40 amYeah, a real great guy. Died (or his double?) at a posh ski resort while thousands of his former employees have lost their life savings and retirement benefits because of him and Skilling.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:41 amYean, real nice guy. Come on Democrats, this moron is giving you all kinds of ammunition and no one is exploiting it. Come on fight Rove tactics with Rove tactics.
Let’s not forget Bush’s definition of “good”:
“Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.”
—George W. Bush, to FEMA director Michael Brown, who resigned 10 days later amid criticism over his job performance, Mobile, Ala., Sept. 2, 2005
July 7th, 2006 at 10:42 amG. BUSH: I haven’t yet. I’m going to write her a letter at some point in time.
So, there wasn’t any laughter at this? Given that he doesn’t seem to have any compassion I can only wonder what he might say in such a letter.
Z.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:44 amHitler was a nice guy very generous to his friends just had a chip on his shoulder about the jews but apart from that he was a nice guy
Dr Menglar was also nice guy just had problems at work
Jesus was a nice guy too just could not shut his mouth
The prophet Mohammad was a nice guy too , apart from being a phedaphile marrying a 9 year old and his dying statement “take the sword of islam to the rest of the world” yeh but he was a nice guy
Vlad the impailer he was a nice guy too and also an ancestor of Bush , Yeh Vlad was great until till you said you can stick that up your arse
Goverments are great too, they look after there people
July 7th, 2006 at 10:46 amOh Hold on a minute im having real difficulty namimg a goverment that is actually liked by the people
The Bush-Lay Letters
July 7th, 2006 at 10:46 amCorrespondence suggests chummy President-Enron boss relationship
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0708042lay1.html
unbelievable,
Oh no, Bush made a joke about being injured! I thought you were part of the Humor Police around these parts? Guess not.
The two men, for all intents and pruposes, wer cut from the same cloth.
Ah yes, a man who murdered thousands of people for no reason what so ever (Zarqawi), and a businessman who defrauded his stockholders and caused his company to go down the tubes all in the effort of trying to save his own company (Lay). Yup, same thing really. Good girl, your moral compass is as good as it has ever been.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:48 amfunny hes gonna write a letter to the family. Im sure he hasnt written any personal letters to the 2500 men and woman that died serving our country.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:49 amI see that Bush is still peddling that story that Lay supported Ann Richards.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:51 amI’d stopped at a McDonald’s in Nevada
Comment by unbelievable — July 7, 2006 @ 10:40 am
Unbelievable. I thought you were a vegetarian. :)
Seriously. This is for all free-market praisers: Ken Lay is dead. His family freaking rich due to all employees savings. GM is winding down its number of employees thanks to company fusions. Gap between rich and poor is getting wider, while poor are increasing fastly. This happened in a free market society. Communism has nothing to do with it. Free-market and this stupid profit-above-all spirit is crashing down by its own.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:51 amSlips Bushy a seanote
Now call me a good guy, dammit.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:53 amIm sure he hasnt written any personal letters to the 2500 men and woman that died serving our country.
Comment by g — July 7, 2006 @ 10:49 am
Until he sends them a letter saying that they are going home, I bet they’d rather not hear from him… I wouldn’t. He just makes things worse with his extreme insensitivity and callous regard for other people’s pain. Plus, he speaks as if he’s retarded when not rehersed, so I can’t imagine anyone could understand a thing he had to say anyway…
July 7th, 2006 at 10:54 amN.Y. tunnel plot uncovered
A man is being held in Beirut, Lebanon, in connection with a plot to blow up tunnels in New York, counterterrorism sources told CNN. In its Friday editions, the New York Daily News first reported that the FBI had revealed a plot to bomb New York’s Holland Tunnel and flood the financial district in lower Manhattan. But sources told CNN that the Holland Tunnel was not mentioned specifically as a target.
http://www.cnn.com
July 7th, 2006 at 10:55 amJan: “a lapse of judgment.”em> - - Jan, kitten, a lapse of judgment is an employee with an expense account and a human itch.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:55 amWhat Kenny Boy Lay pulled off is an absolute, complete, overwhelming, comprehensive, thorough, sweeping, universal, total, global and panoramic lack of ethics.
Someone should call Bush on this repeat lie about Ken Lay supporting Ann Richards. Depending on how you count it, Lay gave between 4-7 times as much to Bush as he gave to Ann Richards in the 1994 gubernatorial contest.
Bush is a lying sack of shit.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:56 amUnbelievable. I thought you were a vegetarian. :)
Comment by Juan C — July 7, 2006 @ 10:51 am
Vegan actually :). I stopped to use the facilities and get an orange juice (no meat :)
July 7th, 2006 at 10:57 am#26 - Funny letter.
What I find funniest is the references to Lays “beautiful, younger wife.” Linda Lay (the former Linda Carter) was Lay’s secretary during his early years at Enron.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:57 amYou can fool some of the people all of the time, you can fool all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.
you fools
July 7th, 2006 at 10:58 amunbelievable,
Vegan actually :). I stopped to use the facilities and get an orange juice (no meat :)
Oh come on, you know they put animal fat in just about everything they sell….. :)
July 7th, 2006 at 10:58 amI couldn’t make it without eggs & cheese myself. But I do enjoy vegan meals with the friends of mine that are vegan. Me, I’m a classic omnivore.
Was that Seixon making a joke in 38? Maybe KennyBoy getting a cold in the now frozen over hell.
July 7th, 2006 at 11:11 amwhat does a criminal say upon being caught by the police if they had partners?
July 7th, 2006 at 11:13 am“it was his fault” doesn’t wash with a conspiracy that lasted this long and was so well documented
Oh come on, you know they put animal fat in just about everything they sell….. :)
Comment by Seixon
Mmmmmm, orange juice with a lard chaser…breakfast of champions!
July 7th, 2006 at 11:14 am:P
how many ‘takes’ were required for charlie mccarthy to appear to give spontaneous unrehearsed answers to simple questions? in the bottom right had corner of the tv screen it read ‘LARRY KING LIVE IN DC’. the
July 7th, 2006 at 11:22 amshow aired at 9 p.m. ET, yet the view out of the oval office window was in broad daylight. oooops!
#42 -
Maybe not quite. The show is called “Larry King Live”. The “in DC” part is fairly self-explanatory. I can see your honest mistake.
More lies and subterfuge!
July 7th, 2006 at 11:27 am“Good” is such a relative term.
July 7th, 2006 at 11:41 amI’m sure Bush,despite the needless(yes,Bush knew the stated reasons were false) deaths and maimings of tens of thousands in Iraq,still considers himself a good person.
I’m sure Cheney sleeps very well at night.Good guy.
That word starts to lose all meaning.
Ken was a parasite, too, George, just like you. A man who did nothing and felt entitled to everything.
A whole generation of wimpy little men who never grew beyond two years old, you’d all make better fertilizer than human beings.
July 7th, 2006 at 11:43 am.
Mmmmmm, orange juice with a lard chaser…breakfast of champions!
:P
I know I always churn up a few porkchops to have in my morning glass of OJ. Does the body gooood!
July 7th, 2006 at 11:44 amYeah, people say John Dillinger had a sweet side to him.
Ken Lay was a crook as are most of Bush’s business associates.
Only news here is that he admitted he knew him. Whatever came of that famous Bush loyalty?
July 7th, 2006 at 11:47 amKen Lay Page
# 41~Zooey:
You’ve done it !
July 7th, 2006 at 11:48 amYyaaaahh !!!
LARRY KING LIVE~
July 7th, 2006 at 11:49 amTV/radio veteran Larry King hosts this live call-in show for CNN.
nice try chase.
Oops,I mean #42~Zooey:
You’ve done it !
July 7th, 2006 at 11:52 amYyaaaahh !!!
Those comments were very appropriate.
He expressed disappointment for his crimes but was also respectful of his passing.
Did you want the President to trash him?
Comment by Chase —
====================
July 7th, 2006 at 11:55 amBush mocked the executed female killed in Texas when he was Gov..
She probably wasn’t a campaign contributor.
Oh,and”disappointment”?Outrage would have been a more honest characterization by Bush….but this is the same Bush who yukked it up about not finding WMDs in Iraq.
Bad seed.
#50 - Yes, it’s usually a “live call-in show”. Did he take calls last night?
Ask yourself that.
July 7th, 2006 at 11:56 amTiming.
I wonder, was Ken thinking about a deal before sentencing? Would have been a good time to reveal those close ties to the Bush family, just before getting sentence, no? Just saying, just wondering.
July 7th, 2006 at 12:07 pmYou’ve done it !
Yyaaaahh !!!
Comment by Bingo !
As promised…
July 7th, 2006 at 12:08 pm:)
The President didn’t need to “trash” him to be honest. He could have simlpy said he knew lay and was saddened by his passing and left it at that. Instead he felt the need to play apologist for a friend and financial contributor who made a living by lying, cheating, fraud and stealing all so he could line his own pockets at the expense of others.
I don’t care how “nice” he was. Someone who behaves in that manner clearly is not a “good guy”. Good guys don’t worship money and power above all else. Good guys don’t steal from investors to make themselves rich. Good guys don’t encourage employees to feed on each other to make a few extra bucks. And good guys certainly don’t encourage harming others (through controlled power outages and essentially blackmail) to make money.
July 7th, 2006 at 12:18 pm“Hitler wasn’t all that bad either”
-G.W. Bush
July 7th, 2006 at 12:20 pmYou want to know what a “nice guy” Kenneth Lay was?
Check out a copy of “ENRON: The Smartest Guys in The Room” then come back convince the former Enron employees along with the rest of us that we’re just over-reacting to Bush’s relationship with this guy.
I think there’s a great theme song for Bush and his ilk - “Sympathy for the Devil” by The Rolling Stones.
July 7th, 2006 at 12:21 pmShow me the body.
Show me the body
Heard on NPR yesterday that Lay is the direct cause of nationalization of energy, and that it is here to stay, and by proxy
Ken Lay will live forever.
We need to fill Norquist’s bathtub with gasoline and get busy.
July 7th, 2006 at 12:23 pm# 52.Steve53:
There is a chronic blogger named ‘unbelievabe’ who insists that I post under your name.
July 7th, 2006 at 12:23 pmIf you are still online,is there any thing you can say to clear up her idiocy?
i didn’t watch any but the clip posted here…
July 7th, 2006 at 12:30 pmbut while watching that clip, i looked for that famous, inappropriate grin… sure enough - there it is at larry’s question, “was the whole enron story a shock to you?” and again when dubya said, “he betrayed the trust of shareholders”… the absolute worst times to be grinning…
imagine that…
Lay was the man who knew too much. Quite convenient for him to keel over when he was obviously in negotiations with prosecutors for a sentence reduction in October. Bush had the “good guy” offed.
July 7th, 2006 at 12:35 pmInsists? Sybil, stop lying. I said it once since you’ve posted as Sharon Cox, JAy Randal and JPark before.
Don’t you have some eggs to go hatch?
July 7th, 2006 at 12:36 pmoh, and you young-uns crack me up…
maybe the teachers in here can explain - but what is it with the poor language skills: there/their, then/than, etc…
but this one was really cute, though not in the “language” dept.:
Slips Bushy a seanote
Comment by Xbot — July 7, 2006 @ 10:53 am
fyi - it’s C-note, as in Century, as in 100…
July 7th, 2006 at 12:39 pmfunny kids… just pickin’ on ya’s… with love, of course…
#63.
Thank you for admitting you were wrong.
But now the question remains;why are you posting under the name of
July 7th, 2006 at 12:44 pm‘’suckson”.Hhmmm.
But will Bush eulogize and acknowledge his friendship with Ken Lay?
Past history suggests not. During the height of the Enron meltdown in January 2002, Bush denied his well-documented relationship with Lay:
“I got to know Ken Lay when he was the head of the-what they call the Governor’s Business Council in Texas. He was a supporter of Ann Richards in my run in 1994. And she had named him the head of the Governor’s Business Council. And I decided to leave him in place, just for the sake of continuity. And that’s when I first got to know Ken.”
For the history, see:
July 7th, 2006 at 12:49 pm“Bush Lies About Ken Lay.”
Sybil
I would imagine, you.
July 7th, 2006 at 12:49 pmSybil/MA/Denny/Etc. I’m not interested in talking to you. You clearly are a very angry and sad person who gets off on insulting other people and resorting to lies when you cannot prove any of your egregious claims. Have a nice life, if that’s possible. I’ll be skipping your nonsense from now on. And all the cowardly name change carnations you’re sure to invent. Pathetic.
July 7th, 2006 at 12:50 pmwell,Sybil does have 16 different personalities. Time for piano lessons and an enema! Sybil
July 7th, 2006 at 12:54 pmDidn’t Tony Snow correct a reporter just the other day saying, “Lay was not a friend…just an acquaintance of the president…?” In this clip Bush refers to Lay as his friend. Either Snow or the president missed a memo.
July 7th, 2006 at 12:54 pmA “good guy”? I guess that depends on what your definition of “good” is.
July 7th, 2006 at 12:59 pmWe have seen what Bush’s definition of good is. Should we expect him to change simply because we know that Lay was a self-centered, thieving, lying creep who was headed to jail for the rest of his scummy life? Hey, he was rich, he spread his money on politicians, so he was a “good guy”. That’s the “leader of the free world” talking.
Listen.
Look, now I am going to be horribly fair to Bush.
The fact is that most conmen are nice guys on the surface, and it isn’t like Bush is a renowned judge of character. Lay just had him conned just like he conned anyone else who could be of any use to him.
Besides, there is kind of a limit to what you can say in this sort of situation, I mean, could he really have said “I hope the guy has it nice and toasty in the afterlife.”
July 7th, 2006 at 1:00 pmGeorge and Laura knew Ken and Linda Lay very intimately as good friends, but to say that Ken Lay was the close friend of Ann Richard was an attempt to smear her and to try to change the subject too! Makes me think of Arnold the meathead claiming that Gov. Gray Davis was involved in the ENRON scandal, but ends up that Arnold knew Ken Lay as a personal friend! GOP tactics are to farm off their associations with felons onto Democrats, so a smear job too!
July 7th, 2006 at 1:05 pmBruce, no, he didn’t have to condemn him to hell. But he didn’t have to call him a “good guy” either. He could have simply offered his condolences to the family and moved on.
July 7th, 2006 at 1:07 pm#69.mother:
Nice try katy;I guess this makes about 5 personalities for you.
July 7th, 2006 at 1:08 pmWhy don’t you start trying to brown-nose unbelievable again,and let’s see how far it gets you this time.(LDO)
The idiot chit-chatters on this site have become worse than the trolls. Or are they the trolls with a new strategy? Later.
July 7th, 2006 at 1:12 pm# 68.unbelievable:’sad person’.
Me ?
You’re the one regaling us with your McDonald’s stories.
July 7th, 2006 at 1:15 pmRun Chimpy Run…. How you gonna write a letter? That takes a modicum of smarts. Oh, I forgot you got the Joker look alike Juicy Laura, everyones favorite librarian that didn’t know him well, but had good times with Kenny Boy’s wife to do your literary functions..
Gonna be fun when they manage to tie you and lil Dick to all this crap won’t it???
July 7th, 2006 at 1:35 pmYesterday Bush couldn’t remember who Ken Lay was today he’s a good guy. Well folks remember what Bush thinks of his friends. When Kenny told Barbara and Laura Bush to cash in their stock shares before the stock fell Kenny was a good friend even good enough to be offered a job at the White House. Kenny get caught and is found guilty so Bush doesn’t know him anymore. Bush’s new policy on friendship is use them when you can get something forget them when they get caught. Satan is running the White House and moral are gone while the churches are now businesses not for worship but for greed.
July 7th, 2006 at 1:47 pm“G. BUSH: Pretty well, pretty well. I knew him. I got to know him. This — people don’t believe this, but he actually supported Ann Richards in the ‘94 campaign.
KING: She told me that.
G. BUSH: She did?
KING: She liked him a lot.” - transcript via Judd
******I KNOW this will come as a HUGE shock to the ill-mannered, often vulgar “progressives” but some people are not as tacky as you. I am sure atheists and agnostics are the MOST DISAPPOINTED - afterall, he beat “jail time with no punishment for his crimes.
BUT a RARE compliment for Bruce Gorton - your exhibition of good manners is refreshingly unique at this site. (Unlike so many progs, who seem to be raised by Fagin…)
’til later…
July 7th, 2006 at 1:49 pmWhy does GWB have such an warm place in his cold black heart for liars and crooks?
July 7th, 2006 at 1:50 pm“Those comments were very appropriate.
He expressed disappointment for his crimes but was also respectful of his passing.
Did you want the President to trash him?”
Comment by Chase — July 7, 2006 @ 10:18 am
Yes, I wanted the President to trash him, but that would mean he isn’t a criminal (unconvicted, thanks to Congress blocking-investigations of any substance, tantamount to obstruction-of-justice). Yes, he should have lambasted him in-death, as we all do with Hitler on a daily-basis. Go visit Canada–a civilized-nation–and see how much better even a marginally less-corrupt society is. Americans being uninsured for their healthcare is criminal and a human-rights violation, widely-acknowledged in the developed-world. Ah, I guess that means America is basically “Third-World”. You go to a country like Canada, and you see how most conservatives here are yammering-retards, but that’s academic, obvious. Lay’s family will get a form-letter: “Thanks, suckers. We bailed-on-you like the other stickup men.” Does America deserve to survive? I’m beginning to doubt it, we like to crap where we eat too-much.
July 7th, 2006 at 1:52 pmThe guy was convicted for lying and stealing billions of dollares from ordinary Americans, and the president calls him a “good guy”. I guess he loves all liars and criminals.
http://www.sunstateactivist.org/forum
July 7th, 2006 at 2:00 pmCheck out the new SSA Forum. Give us your opinion on the headlines from today or any issue you want to speak out on. SSA: Forum
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betrayal of trust is a heckofva funny attribute to assign to “Good Guy” there bushie.
July 7th, 2006 at 2:06 pm.
Why is it, whenever anybody says Fagin I remember the Artful Dodger? “Fagin’s boys don’t get caught.”
July 7th, 2006 at 2:10 pmBush screwed the shareholders of Harken Energy in the early 90’s. He sold his shares on inside information. He never filed the appropriate form to the SEC alerting the shareholders. This is a crime. The SEC was about to “Martha Stewart” him but his daddy stepped in and stopped the investigation cold. Bush should’ve served time in jail for this criminal offense. The stock fell some 75%. Then he said something to the effect of…What’s everybody complaining about the stock will come back up. (You can find the exact quote if you need to)
July 7th, 2006 at 2:20 pmUmm…did Bush not listen to Tony Snow? That Ken Lay was only an ‘aquaintance”? Look out, they’re off script. This is a good thing.
July 7th, 2006 at 2:25 pmLarry King is a hopelessly lightweight grovelling ass kisser. A con man himself, who declared bankruptcy 5 times, King has always pandered to the Bush crime family. The lightweight, leading nature of this interview ensured the innocuous and banal outcome characteristic of a King Q&A session.
July 7th, 2006 at 2:27 pmLarry King was celebrating Bush’s birthday on his show yesterday, so he had no intention to ask any important questions, nor to put Bush on the spot about anything! Karl Rove set up the interview anyways and it was supposed to be fluff and softball questions too!
July 7th, 2006 at 2:34 pmBUSH & KEN LAY HAD MUCH IN COMMON
This is taken from The Nation 2-4-02 from David Corn:
When W.’s father was president of the United States, George the Younger was a major shareholder in a sinking oil venture called Spectrum 7. But before Spectrum 7 sank completely, the Harken Energy Corporation, which was run by a GOP funder, bailed out the company. Bush got about $500,000 in Harken stock for his piece of Spectrum 7, and Harken signed him up as a consultant. Harken went on to win a 35-year exploration contract with the emirate of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf–an odd deal, since the company had no previous experience in international or offshore drilling. Some observers wondered if Harken’s Bush connection had been a factor. But that’s not the part of the story we care about at this moment.
In June of 1990, Bush sold two-thirds of the Harken stock he had received in the Spectrum 7 deal–and collected $318,430 more than it was worth when he first obtained it. Get low, sell high? Anything wrong with that? The month before this sale, Harken appointed Bush to a committee to determine, as Ivins and Dubose put it, “how restructuring [of the firm] would affect ordinary shareholders.” According to Ivins and Dubose, who note the previous reporting work of “U.S. News and World Report,” when Bush served on this committee, he was privy to information indicating the company was in trouble. He then dumped his stocks before this news became public. “U.S. News” concluded that at the time of the sale there was “substantial evidence to suggest that Bush knew Harken was in dire straits.”
Bush claims he had merely sold at an opportune time, when word of the Bahrain deal was bolstering the company’s position. But he then neglected to notify the Securities and Exchange Commission of his stock-dump, as he was required to do. Is that the tip-off something was amiss? (He filed the appropriate paperwork eight months after the deadline.) In the meantime, two months after he sold his shares, Harken stock dropped 25 percent, and it would sink further in the months ahead. As Ivins and Dubose note, “three years later, during his 1994 race against [Texas Governor] Ann Richards, he claimed he had filed the required report and that the SEC must have misplaced it. SEC spokesman John Heine told ‘Time’ that no one at the agency ever found any lost document.”
Did Bush, one of the captains of Harken, jump that sinking ship because he had inside information the vessel was foundering? The chronology is suspicious. Yet now he is shocked, shocked that his close friend Ken Lay engaged in the same pattern of behavior. Perhaps if Ken Lay ever does permit himself to be questioned by a Congressional committee an additional query ought to be added to the list above: Did George W. Bush ever offer you advice on how to betray the shareholders of your own company by selling stock in response to bad-news known only to insiders?
July 7th, 2006 at 2:39 pmGood point! It reminds me of how respectful the wingnuts were of Vince Foster’s passing.
July 7th, 2006 at 2:40 pmyu mean foster’s murder
July 7th, 2006 at 2:42 pmWell Bush is probably saying - Thank god, that’s one less guy I have to pardon at the end of my term
July 7th, 2006 at 2:42 pmSeems to me the issue is that originally Bush* denied that Lay was anything more than a casual aquaintance. The guy now claims he was a friend and a ‘Good Guy’?
One of those two ideas is a lie.
July 7th, 2006 at 2:50 pmOkay conspiracy theorists, to quote the article:
July 7th, 2006 at 2:53 pm“G. BUSH: Yes, he’s a good guy.”
Isn’t that present tense?
Perhaps GWB had a different definition of “good” when he referred to Ken Lay as a “good guy.” Consider this. Used as a adjective, “good” has at least 28 different attributes to convey to the noun. Putting aside all the virtouous connotations, definition #3 below indicates that Lay was a good guy because he was skilled at
what he was, a crook and a liar. George W Bush himself is a good liar. Then there is #13. Lay was a good guy because he was benefical to his own and his families financial success. #15 indicates that Lay was a good guy because he was meticoulous in defrauding his stockholders and employees by hiding ENRON’s true financial status from them. There is also #17, #18, and #23 that could equally be applied indicating what a truly good guy Kenny was. Yep, that old (60) George W Bush is a good republican. Apply whichever one fits and eliminate the virtuous ones.
adjective (comparative bet·ter [ béttər ], superlative best [ best ])
Definition:
1. of high quality: of a high quality or standard, either on an absolute scale or in relation to another or others
The meal wasn’t good.
He’ll make a very good doctor.
I smashed one of my good plates.
2. suitable: having the appropriate qualities to be something or to fit a purpose
Futons make good chairs as well as beds.
The bicycle is good for short trips.
3. skilled: possessing the necessary skill or talent to do something
I’m not a very good driver.
She’s good at science.
4. virtuous: having or showing an upright and virtuous character
You’re a good man, Joe.
5. kind: having or showing a kind and generous disposition
She was always very good to me.
6. affording pleasure: affording pleasure or comfort
He’s a man who insists on the finer things in life: good food, good books, and the theater.
7. undamaged: having undergone no deterioration or damage
I smelled the meat and found it was still good.
8. ample: sufficiently large, or providing more than enough of something
Between them they have a good income.
9. honorable: worthy of honor or high esteem
They come from a good family.
10. valid: acceptable as true or genuine and sufficient for the purpose
There had better be a good explanation for this mess.
Don’t travel unless your insurance is good.
11. helpful: helping somebody to organize thoughts or make decisions
She gave me some good advice.
12. pleasant: pleasant to look at
Don’t let her good looks distract you from her intelligence.
13. beneficial: beneficial to health or well-being
Eating lots of fruit is good for you.
It’s good to talk.
14. favorable: suitable and likely to produce the right results or conditions
a good time to take a vacation
15. meticulous: careful and thorough
Take a good look around.
16. financially advantageous: financially or commercially advantageous or reliable
I made a few good investments last year.
17. genuine: that is what it appears to be
a good dollar bill
18. obedient: well behaved and obedient
The children are always good when we take them out.
19. well-mannered: socially correct
very good behavior
20. able to do more: remaining in operation or effect, or able to continue doing something
The car will be good for another 6,000 miles.
21. able to pay: able to pay or contribute something or to allow a sum to be drawn
He’s good for at least a thousand dollars.
22. guaranteed to be paid: describes a debt that will be paid in full
a good debt
23. producing result: able to produce a particular result
John is always good for a laugh.
24. sizable: considerable in extent or size
a good selection of books on computers
25. full: at least a particular time or length
It’s a good 30 years since we met.
26. within bounds: inside the required area for a shot, throw, or pass to be allowed
The umpire said that the catch was good.
27. used in exclamations: used in exclamations of surprise, dismay, or other strong feelings ( informal )
Good heavens! I’ve won first prize!
28. healthy: well in health ( informal )
July 7th, 2006 at 3:20 pm“How are you?” “I’m good, thanks.”
Post 95 > Whoops Bush really meant to say He Was A Good Guy > now he has to tell Ken Lay to leave his ranch where he took up residence after they claimed he died of a heart attck > lol.
July 7th, 2006 at 3:22 pmRon, I would not doubt that Ken Lay isn’t dead but I’m afraid you give Bush too much credit for knowing how to talk properly. This was probably another Bushism that wing nuts will tell you is just something that happens to people all the time!
July 7th, 2006 at 3:27 pmSteve53:
There is a chronic blogger named ‘unbelievabe’ who insists that I post under your name.
If you are still online,is there any thing you can say to clear up her idiocy?
Comment by Sybil —
July 7th, 2006 at 3:41 pm======================
Hi,Sybil.I’m happy to try to help clear up any confusion.
Unbelievable,I’m a relative newcomer here.I’m a 52 year old liberal Grandfather who lives in western NY.
I comment under the name Steve53.No other.
No, he wasn’t a good guy.
People are judged by their actions, and he was judged guilty.
Guilty people are bad.
When they’ve paid their debt to society they have the opportunity to reform.
July 7th, 2006 at 3:57 pmso if the kennedy-haters can say jack kennedy rubbed out marilyn, can conspiracy theorists finger the busheviks with kenny-boy? kenny had to go before he turned supergrass on the bushevik crime family? did the terminator take him down? where was neil bush this week? who has oliver stone’s phone number?
July 7th, 2006 at 4:00 pmWAIT A MINUTE…..
July 7th, 2006 at 4:07 pmI THOUGHT THE OFFICIAL ADMININSTRATION (BUSH) POSITION WAS THAT KENNY BOY WAS ONLY AN ACQUAINTANCE. IN FACT, TONY SNOW(JOB) SAID SO JUST THE OTHER DAY.
SOMETHING, AS USUAL WITH THIS GUY, IS NOT QUITE RIGHT.
The problem America has, that is so apparent here on this thread, is an inability to recognize PSYCHOPATHS, people with no consciences. Both Bush and Lay (as well as Laura) display a single disregard for sympathy for others, concern with what is doing right and a superior attitude. They are often marked by charming and misleading initial “presentation”.
It would really behoove people to read about StaussISM and its tenets to understand how screwed up the current cabal and its supporters really are.l And the worst part of this trend (which isn’t as easy as labelling them neocons), is that they stick together!! They have their own association to help each other out.
Until the Murkan public can learn to recognize how their slave masters work, we are going to continue to have grave problems. Americans are in the midst of a spiritual awakening .. balanced by the far, far out of whack ruling cabal of government plus big business producing a fascist state. It’s backed up by the Big Guns of the military. It’s gotten so bad, even the military leaders are revolting.
Why would anyone be offended when someone is less than “kind” when Ken Lay dies … and people are reflecting on what the man DID? He was willing to take the Indian government and people for $1 billion dollars to build an electical plant — with the help from Clinton and Bush. This was no “common” crook.
It’s truly sad to see that many on this list haven’t figure out what is actually going on yet.
July 7th, 2006 at 4:17 pmThe Enron Mangling Dictator (Ken Lay) was a good guy says the Commander in Grief (Bush)
July 7th, 2006 at 4:19 pm#101 - “…so if the kennedy-haters can say jack kennedy rubbed out marilyn, can conspiracy theorists finger the busheviks with kenny-boy?…” Jealous Jeff
*****Go ahead and wag those theories - my favourite “Bushco as 9/11 mastermind.” Seriouly progs, which is it? Is GWB the evil,intrepid plotter? Or is he the stupid smirking chimp you parody?
As for the Kennedys’: Get it right, Jeff - it was Teddy who rubbed out Marilyn, with Peter’s help. HA! But do you need to go that far back in Demo Pres history to find Vince Foster in Fort Marcy Park??? Hmmmmm….
July 7th, 2006 at 4:28 pmThank you, Virginia. I would only add the billions that he stole from California, the rolling blackouts and the 300% increase in electric bills for many elderly and low income citizens of Cali. No good man ALLOWS this to happen let alone perpetrates it himself!
July 7th, 2006 at 4:47 pm“G. BUSH: Yes, he’s a good guy.â€
Isn’t that present tense?
Comment by Ron — July 7, 2006 @ 2:53 p
that one caught my attention too… maybe dubya’s in denial, can’t accept the loss… uh huh…
July 7th, 2006 at 5:19 pmi would put absolutely NOTHING past this gang of thieves and goons…
KING: The death of Ken Lay.
G. BUSH: Yes, yes.
KING: I know he was your friend. How do you feel? Were you shocked?
G. BUSH: I was. I was very surprised.
You know, just — my hope is that his heart was right with the Lord,
>> To borrow a phrase from the first Republican president ( Rrraaayyygggguuunnnn) who
convinced the proletariat that the Republican Party “cared” for the “working” man:
There you go again, pandering to the religious fundamentalists. Oooops, I’m sorry,
this is the United States, not Iraqistan.
>> and I feel real sorry for his wife.
Why? Ken’s absence is her problem, not yours. She married him, not you.
July 7th, 2006 at 5:37 pmBush has a criminal mind. From one criminal to another, what Ken Lay did was no big deal.
July 7th, 2006 at 5:42 pmI’m sure Mrs. Lay will do the right thing as Kenny would have wanted and move to a four bedroom home,own one car and give the remainder of the Lay wealth to the INNOCENT victims of his greed and mishandling of their pensions and investments. That’s when I will stop calling him Cheato Lay. ( Thanks NY Post)
July 7th, 2006 at 5:50 pm#99.Steve53:
Thank you for the clarification.
July 7th, 2006 at 5:59 pmIn Bush’s mind, Hitler was a good guy too.
July 7th, 2006 at 6:02 pmOf course justice is always served eventually, whether in this world or the next. So Lay really didn’t escape anything, except that here on Earth his conviction is voided and his wife gets to keep a lot of other poeples money she wouldn’t have, had he lived. How convenient. Did anyone check the Cayman Islands, etc. for him? Maybe he’s still with us…
July 7th, 2006 at 6:06 pmToo bad he died. Hearing “Bend over and grab your ankles again, Kenny Boy.” every day for the next 25 years would have been a much more appropriate end for the scum sucking weasel.
July 7th, 2006 at 6:33 pmKilgore: >>“and I feel real sorry for his {Lay’s} wife.” - - Lay’s wife is a harpie who was going to divorce him soon anyway.
July 7th, 2006 at 8:24 pmIt looks like GWB found out about “Just For Men” haircolor. And ‘accidentally’ ran into a Botox needle, with his forehead, a few times. Guess turning 60 inspired him.
July 7th, 2006 at 8:52 pmHow reprehensible, that a president of the United States should have the monumental gall to say anything nice on the occasion of someones death. Clearly he should have followed the example of that hero of the left; that paragon of presidential decorum, Bill Clinton, who pardonned all manner of thugs, criminals, hucksters and outright bums in return for donations to his presidential library. Not that it wasn’t painfully obvious anyhow, but one of the most beneficial contributions of Bush Derangement Syndrome is the way in which it highlights the hypocrisy of the left at every turn. Lets see now, saying something cordial about a dead criminal–terrible. Releasing criminals from jail in return for bribes–perfectly OK. And these are the people who wonder why they don’t win elections!
July 7th, 2006 at 9:59 pmLemme see if I’ve got this right…
Lay cheated hundreds if not thousands of his own hard-working employees out of their jobs and their pensions, destroyed their dreams and probably those of many of their children, all in order to feather his own nest…and this makes him a GOOD GUY?!? Puh-leeeeze…
Then again, to a Social Darwinist like Bush who clearly demonstrates that he considers the value of a person proportional to the amount of money in their pocketbook, that’s probably about right. Rich guy = good guy, no matter how their money might have been obtained…
July 7th, 2006 at 10:55 pmI love it when right-wingers like Seixon accuse us of being vulgar, rude, and nasty. Have they never heard of Anne Coulter?
July 7th, 2006 at 11:14 pmNotice that when Bush drops the Ann Richards lie, he’s totally shocked when Larry King backs him up on it:
BUSH: Pretty well, pretty well. I knew him. I got to know him. This — people don’t believe this, but he actually supported Ann Richards in the ‘94 campaign.
KING: She told me that.
BUSH: She did?
Sounds like he almost choked on that.
July 8th, 2006 at 1:46 am[…] During President Bush’s softball interview with Larry King on CNN’s Larry King Live, the two spoke about Ken Lay, the former CEO and Chairman of Enron that was convicted for six counts of conspiracy and fraud last May who died July 5. Bush said that he was “disappointed… he betrayed the trust of shareholders,” however, Lay was “a good guy.” LARRY KING: The death of Ken Lay. GEORGE BUSH: Yes, yes. KING: I know he was your friend. How do you feel? Were you shocked? BUSH: I was. I was very surprised. You know, just — my hope is that his heart was right with the Lord, and I feel real sorry for his wife. She’s had a rough go, and she’s now here on earth to bear the burdens of losing her husband, a man she loved. […] KING: Because, I mean, you knew him pretty well from Texas, right? BUSH: Pretty well, pretty well. I knew him. I got to know him. This — people don’t believe this, but he actually supported Ann Richards in the ‘94 campaign. […] BUSH: Yes, he’s a good guy. And so what I did — then did was we had a business council, and I kept him on as the chairman of the business council. And, you know, got to know him and got to see him in action. (emphasis mine) […]
July 8th, 2006 at 6:55 amThe more I think about Ken Lay’s death, the more I doubt that Ken Lay is dead.
I don’t care if it sounds tin-foily, but having been convicted and facing the rest of his life in prison, ‘death’ was Ken Lay’s only way to escape punishment.
President Bush couldn’t possibly pardon Ken Lay. No way.
But upon Ken Lay’s ‘death,’ his conviction is vacated/voided and he gets to keep all the looted money he still has.
How many people will even see Ken Lay’s dead body? One medical examiner? Does that person even know Ken Lay enough to recognize and swear the body is him? It’s not like they’re running his DNA. And if/when the body is cremated, it’s a done deal; Ken Lay keeps his stolen estate and fades away.
Even President Bush understands a pardon for Ken Lay was politically impossible. It was Ken Lay’s only remaining option to avoid spending the rest of his life in prison.
July 8th, 2006 at 7:44 amFrom Slate.com
In distancing himself from Enron, President Bush said that CEO Kenneth Lay ‘was a supporter’ of Democrat Ann Richards in his first race for Texas governor in 1994.
“But records and interviews with people involved in the Richards campaign show that he was a far bigger Bush supporter.
“Mr. Lay and his wife gave Mr. Bush three times more money [italics Chatterbox’s] than Ms. Richards in their gubernatorial contest, according to a computer-assisted review of campaign finance reports by The Dallas Morning News. … Mr. Bush, a Republican, collected $37,500 from the Lays in his successful bid to unseat the Democratic incumbent, state records show. Ms. Richards received $12,500.”
—Wayne Slater, “Lay Gave More To Bush,” Dallas Morning News, Jan. 12.
July 8th, 2006 at 8:46 amisn’t it “he was a good guy” not he is a good guy.Bush what an idiot.
July 8th, 2006 at 9:54 amfrom
ken lay
isn’t it “he was a good guy” not he is a good guy.Bush what an idiot.
July 8th, 2006 at 9:54 amfrom
ken lay
…from one “GOOD GUY”…
…to another…
July 8th, 2006 at 10:39 am#63 Eww, she has posted under my name? I feel dirty :(
July 8th, 2006 at 1:32 pmdon’t mess with my man seixon you slutty liberal women,or i will beat you up but good! he’s mine, hear me, all mine!!!
July 8th, 2006 at 1:59 pm#127 JPark:
Just once;and you are dirty,but not because of me.
July 8th, 2006 at 6:39 pmANOTHER SMOKE SCREEN FROM THE STOOGE, LARRY KING- TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW WITH BUSH 7/6/06 (CONVERSATION IS IN RED OR ITALICS. PLAIN SCRIPT ARE THE FACTS.)
KING: Was that whole thing, the whole Enron story shocking to you?
G. BUSH: Yes, yes.
KING: Because, I mean, you knew him pretty well from Texas, right?
G. BUSH: Pretty well, pretty well. I knew him. I got to know him.
In 1990, Gov. Bush picked Lay to co-chair the Houston Economic Summit of the G-8 Industrial Nations, a prestigious forum that gave the Enron chairman access to the leaders of the world’s wealthiest countries. Lay also enjoyed Bush’s backing to deregulate the nation’s energy market to open public utilities to private competition, Enron’s core business.
Back in the United States, Lay was one of 273 people invited by Bush to spend a night at the White House during his four-year term. [Houston Chronicle, Feb. 27, 1997]
In 1992, Lay served as chairman of the host committee for the Republican National Convention in Houston. That year, however, Bush lost the White House to Bill Clinton. Cushioning the fall for some of Bush’s top aides, Enron hired as consultants Bush’s Secretary of State James Baker and Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher. [Business Week, Feb. 12, 2001]
G. BUSH This — people don’t believe this, but he actually supported Ann Richards in the ‘94 campaign.
In 1994, the Bush-Lay relationship entered a new phase when the younger George Bush entered the race for the Texas governor’s mansion. He ran a hard-hitting campaign, suggesting that Richards was soft on crime. Critical to the campaign was getting his message out, and critical to that effort was money. Bush turned to his father’s old political benefactor, Ken Lay. Enron and Lay contributed $146,500 to the Bush campaign, seven and a half times more than they contributed to the Richards campaign. Lay also publicly endorsed Bush. Texans for Public Justice
G. BUSH: Yes, he’s a good guy. And so what I did — then did was we had a business council, and I kept him on as the chairman of the business council. And, you know, got to know him and got to see him in action.
In 1997, Bush also intervened on Enron’s behalf with a call to Gov. Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania. At the time, Enron was vying to sell electricity in Pennsylvania, which was deregulating its energy market.
Bush placed the call at the personal request of Lay, who later told the New York Times, “I called George W. to kind of tell him what was going on. And I said that it would be very helpful to Enron … if he could just call the governor and tell him this is a serious company, this is a professional company, a good company.”
During the bidding process, Enron’s main rival, PECO Energy Co., accused Enron of attempting to rig Pennsylvania’s energy market. PECO’s vice president, Thomas P. Hill, described Enron’s scheme as a way to “simply take the money from the pockets of Pennsylvanians and drop it” into the coffers of Texans. [Foster Electric Report, Oct. 15, 1997]
In the 2000 campaign, Lay was a Pioneer for Bush, raising $100,000. Enron also gave the Republicans $250,000 for the convention in Philadelphia and contributed $1.1 million in soft money to the Republican Party, more than twice what it contributed to Democrats. [www.opensecrets.org]
Lay and his wife then donated $10,000 to Bush’s Florida recount fund that paid for Republican lawyers and operatives to ensure that a full recount of Florida’s ballots never occurred. To this day, Bush has refused to release an accounting of how that recount fund money was spent.
Starting in late February 2001, Lay and other Enron officials took part in at least a half dozen secret meetings to develop the Bush’s energy plan. After one of the Enron meetings, Vice President Cheney’s energy task force changed a draft energy proposal to include a provision to boost oil and natural gas production in India. The amendment was so narrow that it apparently was targeted only to help Enron’s troubled Dabhol power plant in India. [Washington Post, Jan. 26, 2002]
Besides listening to Lay’s advice, Bush put the corporation’s allies inside the federal government. Two top administration officials, Lawrence Lindsey, the White House’s chief economic adviser, and Robert Zoellick, the U.S. Trade Representative, both worked for Enron, Lindsey as a consultant and Zoellick as a paid member of Enron’s advisory board. [http://www.public-i.org/story_01_011102.htm]
After Bush took the White House in January 2001, Enron Corp., Enron’s President and Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Skilling, and Ken Lay contributed $100,000 each for a total of $300,000 to the Bush-Cheney Inaugural Fund.
Bush also named Thomas E. White Jr., an 11-year veteran of Enron’s corporate suites, secretary of the Army. White had run a key subsidiary, Enron Energy Services, which is now the focus of allegations about accounting irregularities. After taking office in May, White vowed to apply his Enron experience to privatizing utility services at military bases. White’s subsidiary had been responsible for selling energy services and Enron was eager for contracts with the U.S. military.
Public Citizen has demanded that White fully explain 29 meetings and phone calls with senior Enron officials after White became Army secretary. White says the conversations were with “personal friends” about “Enron’s deteriorating financial conditions.” [Washington Post, Jan. 27, 2002]
At least 14 administration officials owned stock in Enron, with Undersecretary of State Charlotte Beers and chief political adviser Karl Rove each reporting up to $250,000 worth of Enron stock when they joined the administration.
While Cheney was hammering out his energy plan and Lay was discussing energy options with FERC, a full-scale energy crisis was sweeping California. In a partially deregulated market served by Enron and other energy traders, electricity prices soared 800 percent in one year. Rolling blackouts crisscrossed the state.
A recently released memo from Lay to Cheney advised the administration last April not to use price caps to spare Californians from soaring energy costs, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “The administration should reject any attempt to re-regulate wholesale power markets by adopting price caps or returning to archaic methods of determining the cost-base of wholesale power,” the memo said. [San Francisco Chronicle, 01/30/02]
Bush filled the FERC with pro-Enron allies who pushed an agenda favoring faster deregulation of the nation’s energy grids. Bush promoted former Texas Public Utilities commissioner Pat Wood III, whom Bush named to the FERC in March 2001, to be FERC chairman. With Wood in charge and another new Republican appointee, Nora Mead Brownell, on the commission, the consolidation of the nation’s energy markets moved to the front burner.
Lay had included Wood and Brownell, a controversial member of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, on his list of preferred FERC candidates. His support appears to have been critical to their selections. [AP, Jan. 31, 2002]
The truth is that the Bush-Lay relationship is as close a public-private relationship as there has been in modern American history. It conjures images from the Frank Capra classic describing another political era, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, in which the strings are pulled by a political machine run by party boss Jim Taylor.
The political plot of the Bush-Lay connection is unique in its own time, but critical to both men. It could even be said that Enron wouldn’t have become the seventh-largest U.S. company – in a position for its executives to make off with hundreds of millions of dollars while leaving small investors and low-level employees to take the fall – without years of assistance from George W. Bush.
And Bush might not have succeeded in taking the White House without the help of Enron and Ken Lay.
G. BUSH One of the things I respected him for was he was such a contributor to Houston’s civil society. He was a generous person. I’m disappointed that there was this — he betrayed the trust of shareholders, but…
Besides the political financing, Lay has supported private and charitable activities of the Bush family. Lay joined one of Barbara Bush’s charities to promote literacy as he served as the honorary chairman of the Celebration of Reading at Houston Wortham Theatre Center. [The Guardian, Jan. 30, 2002]
A trustee of the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation, Lay has donated $50,000 as a patron as well, the New York Daily News reported. In 1999, the Lays chipped in $100,000 for the Andersen Cancer Center at Texas A&M University in a fundraising drive led by then-Gov. George W. Bush and his wife, Laura.
July 9th, 2006 at 6:10 amBush on Ken: “He was a good Lay.”
July 9th, 2006 at 9:09 pmLay should have pleaded the same way Scrushy did…”I’m a Christian, I can’t be guilty” Of course then he wouldn’t have been convicted, Because evangelical Christians (especially those who contribute $$$ to the GOP) can never be criminals.
July 10th, 2006 at 10:33 pmI’ve had friends do terrible things before. Not nearly as terrible as Lay, but everyone makes mistakes. I’m sad Lay died - for one, it’s always sad when a child of God dies, but two, I was really looking forward to seeing him rot in prison. Now he, and all of Enron’s shareholders (my family) and employees, won’t get what they deserve.
But, my point is, a friend can screw up, but unless that screw-up is against you, you often hold onto the friendship. It’s not a political or even ethical matter, but a personal one. You’re dissapointed in your friend, but he’s still your friend.
Was Lay a good guy? No. But would I expect everyone who’s ever known him or liked him in a personal, non-business way to abandon him? No, I would not. If you knew him like Bush had known him, even before the campaign contributions, you might not abandon him either. Humanity just doesn’t work like that.
I despise Lay. I despise Bush even more. But, as stupid as what he told King was, I can understand it.
July 12th, 2006 at 4:17 pmI sincerely doubt that Lay is actually dead. I believe he is alive and well somewhere and that he was released from prison and secluded somewhere with the help of the Bush Family. They have probably substituted the corpse of a homeless man fitting his general characteristics and did some post mortem plastic surgery.
July 14th, 2006 at 3:15 pmThis is intersting. A PC for sale on Ebay from an Enron executive.
http://cm.ebay.com/ cm/ ck/ 1065-29296-2357-0?uid=30862052&site=0&ver=LCA080805&item=150011919358&lk=URL
July 16th, 2006 at 10:50 pmReno Retirement Communities
Thanks for this post!
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