7.22.2004

Dick Cheney: Horrible Halliburton Honcho?

That's what this piece by Robert Bryce in Wednesday's Salon says:

In early September, during the Republican National Convention, the GOP is almost certain to name Dick Cheney as its nominee for vice president of the United States. In the meantime, it's clear that Cheney deserves another nomination: as one of the worst CEOs in recent American history.

Of course, there are plenty of CEOs that should to be on that list, including Enron's Kenneth Lay, Tyco's Dennis Kozlowski and Adelphia's John Rigas. While those bosses certainly are being pilloried, Cheney's disastrous five-year-long tenure at Halliburton deserves far more scrutiny than the mainstream business press has bothered to provide.

Cheney's job at Halliburton is particularly newsworthy now that John Kerry has chosen John Edwards as his running mate. The Republicans have already begun hammering Edwards for his work as a trial lawyer; Democrats have an opportunity to bash Cheney's performance at Halliburton. Given the wreckage that Cheney left behind, that record offers a target-rich environment.