I’d say Ken Thompson was a winner. He kept half a job (and all his benefits).

Considering what he and his incompetent management team have done to shareholder value, I’d call him lucky. I trust he will be a church this Sunday thanking the Lord for sparing him.

Thompson, Wurtz and the entire Wachovia management team should be fired for cause.

The BHPB deal for Rio is not dead yet.

Ken Thompson must have had Bush’s mentor to earn such a high disapproval rating with precision and tact.

Microsoft the bestest winner - they looked at the numbers and said no way and walked away - Biggest loser Wall Street analysts who thought this was a done deal - sorry Jerry you lose

what a sad joke this whole system has become.

“The search giant foiled Microsoft once again”

Your bias is clear

What kind of message does it send when you punish Ken Thompson of Wachovia by just taking away the Chairman of the Board title, but let him stay as CEO? So Mr. Thompson needs new business cards and letterhead, so what? A punishment is something that hurts on a monetary basis, which is what will alter behavior. This is the way I treat my 2 year old when I put him in time-out for bad behavior, he sits there and cries for the 2 minutes he is in, then 30 minutes later he is off doing the same thing that got him in there in the first place. What about the billions Mr. Thompson and his team have lost for shareholders and the stock is -60%? His public statement not to cut the dividend then turn around and cut it 41%, then Wachovia had to raise $8 billion in capital to stay afloat? Wachovia is in the press for bad behavior more than Britney Spears with telemarketing, money-laundering accusations, earning restatements, etc. The $24 billion acquisition of Golden West by Mr. Thompson almost to the day of the housing bubble peak. What about the nearly 20% of the Wachovia workforce which has loss their jobs because of all the losses over the last year? Look at their punishment in comparison, they are life changing! Mr. Thompson talks about the cost-cutting effort Wachovia is going through. In order to ‘practice what he preaches”, Mr. Thompson should not get to order new business cards and letterhead but have him have to put a big X through “Chairman of the Board” on his business cards and letterhead. This would show a real commitment to his cost cutting initiative and a constant reminder of his “slap on the wrist”. Better yet, ground the Wachovia jet fleet and have Mr. Thompson and his team fly commercial, the more time they spend in airports and in the air, the less damage they can do to Wachovia.

AC - add to the list auction rate securities. I can’t believe right thinking people like Chris Davis and Herb Sandler ever got in bed with sleeze like Ken Thompson.