ARE THERE ANY LEADERS IN CONGRESS?

It is amazing how many fake leaders show up during any crisis. The economic crisis is no different. The problem is that during a crisis is just when you most need great leaders not fake leaders. There is an article in the WSJ Lawmakers Press AIG's Liddy. After reading the article I was struck by the lack of real leadership in Congress. It seems instead of leadership, we are getting TV drama. This could have been an episode of Celebrity Apprentice instead of a congressional hearing.

Now don't get me wrong, I am no AIG fan either but some things are absurd. The lawmakers asked to see the AIG business plan referred to as Project Destiny. As lenders and owners of 80% of the company that seems like a fair and reasonable request. But not if the plan will be splashed in the newspapers and on TV, which is what these lawmakers would do with it.

AIG's Liddy needs to show leadership and respond to a small committee that he reports to on an on going basis. But the committee also needs to show leadership. I do not need to see or hear everything they do. What congress should do is tell the American people how they are overseeing AIG and then be held accountable for how well they do that job. Instead they want to play out every action in front of the press as a way to pretend that they are leading but not have any real accountability.

Hey, did I say lawmakers? Maybe that is the problem, we have lawmakers pretending to be business people. Let us hope that real leaders emerge some day soon.