Kenneth Lay

[Anne_Neville]

According to a newspaper article, Kenneth Lay said this gem about the collapse of Enron at his trial yesterday:

@Kenneth Lay

I’m sure there’s absolutely nothing in my life, including the loss of life of many of my loved ones, that even comes close to the same level of pain, and the same enduring pain, that has caused

WTF?

There are two possibilities here:

1. He’s lying in a very unconvincing manner, and he really doesn’t care that he screwed over Enron’s employees. In which case, he’s scum.

2. He really does care more about the collapse of Enron than he does about the death of someone close to him. In which case, he has really screwed up priorities, and is scum.

[KlondikeGeoff]

He’s also stated numerous times that he had no idea whatsoever that anything was wrong with the company.

In which case,

1.He is unfit to be head of any company, and is scum,

or

2. He is lying = scum.

[JohnT]

As someone once in charge of a company that eventually went under, seeing it happen was easily the most shattering experience in my life. I haven’t the slightest idea of what it’s like to have a child/spouse die, but watching my company, years of work, and all my dreams collapse was as intensely painful as anything I can imagine.

[MLS]

I’ve lost parents and had a miscarriage, and either one is more painful IMHO than any pain a business loss could cause. I can’t even think about comparing it to the loss of a child. That’s just… cold. You can get another job. You can start up another company.

FWIW, according to NPR

Ken Lay, the former chairman of Enron, testifies that he was not responsible for Enron’s collapse. He blames former Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow and The Wall Street Journal for destroying the company.

The Wall Street Journal. That’s it, yeah. The Wall Street Journal. That’s the ticket.

[Cervaise]

I’ve been following this closely and I get the impression that Lay knows he doesn’t really have a chance. My feeling is that he’s going through the motions in front of the jury and hoping for the best on appeal. Skilling, at least, made an effort to be convincing.

They’re still both scum.

[JohnT]

@MLS

I’ve lost parents and had a miscarriage, and either one is more painful IMHO than any pain a business loss could cause. I can’t even think about comparing it to the loss of a child. That’s just… cold. You can get another job. You can start up another company.

FWIW, according to NPR

The Wall Street Journal. That’s it, yeah. The Wall Street Journal. That’s the ticket.

Yes, but to Ken Lay, Ken Lay died. Everything he was, everything he wanted to be.

It’s one of those “you have to be there” things, I’m sure. I can’t, of course, speak for the genuineness of Lay’s emotion but I can assure you that the reaction he describes is quite real.

[JohnT]

And I have no idea what the importance of the source of the citation is, given that it is an actual Lay quote.