Sep. 24: Sniglets On McCain's "Non" Campaign Strategy, CEO Salaries, McCain and Stem Cells and Warren Buffett

By Sylvia Gurinsky

*When is campaign strategy not campaign strategy? Or when is a "non" campaign strategy really campaign strategy? When it's Sen. John McCain saying he's suspending his campaign to return to Washington to deal with the issue of the Wall Street bailout:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/09/mccain_suspends_campaign.html?hpid=topnews

McCain does well with these "Hail Mary" decisions. But Sen. Barack Obama is right: Friday's debate should go on - with one change. Flip the topics so this one deals with the economy and the third one with foreign policy. Obama, who got the debate order he wanted, should make that concession.
Of course, if Obama does plan to show up and McCain doesn't.......


*Government regulation of CEO pay? It's an understandable knee-jerk reaction to the outrageous disparity between executive compensation and employee salaries. But it should not happen, though Lee Iacocca, who brought Chrysler out of the doghouse 29 years ago, is cited as an example:

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_10541583

However, Iacocca made that choice. And he is one of those rare executives who has the common touch.

The real problem is that the ballooning executive perks are happening while they are freezing worker pay, laying off employees and cutting benefits. Why and how? That's the part that needs to be scrutinized and dealt with by government. It's not kosher for Joe Boss to pile up the dough while he's firing John and Jane Worker because of shrinking revenues.


*A new ad by the Obama campaign claims McCain opposes stem cell research. Does he? To quote Samantha Stephens of "Bewitched," "Weeeeeeelllllll......."

McCain doesn't oppose the legislation; he voted for it last year, when most Republicans didn't. However, it is true his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, does oppose embryonic stem cell research.

It's one message Obama should have checked more closely before approving.


*For those questioning Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway for his move to bail out Goldman Sachs: It's not new for him. Just read "Personal History," the autobiography of Katharine Graham, late chair of the Washington Post Company (and my former boss of bosses). In the early 1970s, when Graham was still establishing her footing as the company's boss and was being squeezed by President Richard Nixon and Company, Buffett came to the rescue by investing in the company; he's still on the board today.

Contrary to CNN.com's headline, it's not out of character at all.