President Bush gave his anticipated “do as I say and not as I do” speech today, urging corporations to police themselves more thoroughly and urging executives to be more honest and forthright. He also made some proposals for further regulation, but they didn’t seem very toothy to me. If he weren’t in hock to the corporate greedheads who have financed his entire miserable life, he could have simply said, “If you lie and rip off investors, we are going to throw your ass in jail, for years.” That’s what I would have preferred. It remains to be seen whether any of the bloodsuckers who have been behind the corporate scandals that have been exposed so far will actually be punished at all. One of the more shameful things about the speech isn’t Bush’s fault at all. He actually felt the need to urge regulations that prevent corporate criminals from serving as corporate officers in the future. Why in the world to companies need to be told not to appoint proven criminals as officers? Is that not insane?