O’Neill Speaks His Piece

I worked for Alcoa in the ‘80s and ‘90s and had a number of opportunities to interact directly with Paul O’Neill, who was chief executive. It was one particular meeting, during a corporate orientation for a fresh-faced group of new hires, however, that has stayed with me all my days: O’Neill showed up in shirt sleeves to address the small group. He spoke of integrity, personal honor and about the importance of developing and nurturing values and character, especially in a work setting.

But he also talked about the dangers of being blinded by murky notions of misplaced loyalty and the unconditional need to summon the courage and integrity to leave behind any job that did not align with an individual’s moral compass. The term “patriot” is overused and tossed around a lot -- mostly by self-serving, small-minded thugs to describe themselves or their own kind.

But O’Neill’s own brand of courage and integrity, demonstrated by his willingness to take on loudmouthed schoolyard bullies, exemplifies the true nature of leadership and the real meaning of honor. Once again, thank you, Paul.

Jim Clements

Aliso Viejo

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Every time that an attempt is made to expose the prevarications, outright lies and corrupt acts of our government officials, the Bush administration seems to go into high gear with smear campaigns and attempts to discredit the whistle-blower. Witness the statement about former Treasury Secretary O’Neill.

Shooting the messenger has become a serial activity of our government, with former Ambassador Joseph Wilson and his wife, Valerie Plame, being other recent victims. What is the Bush administration going to do about the European press writing about a French judge’s investigation of Halliburton and Vice President Dick Cheney allegedly giving $2.4 million in bribes to Nigerian officials to get tax breaks?

Charles Prendergast

Los Angeles

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Like a Mafia insider, O’Neill has ratted on Bush administration officials, revealing that they were going to attack Iraq from day one. This means that 9/11 had nothing to do with those plans, nor did the nonexistent weapons of mass destruction.

O’Neill should be put in a witness protection plan, and President Bush should be made to give his forthcoming State of the Union address under oath. And finally, the Republican Party should start looking for honest candidates to replace Bush and Cheney at its summer convention.

Robert Anderson

Los Angeles

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I watched O’Neill’s performance on “60 Minutes” and it was no different from that of anyone else who got fired for poor performance. Listening to his lame arguments gives a good indication as to why Bush canned him.

Now, I served in the U.S. Army in Europe in the late ‘50s and had top-secret security clearance. I had access to many sensitive NATO documents. I can’t imagine taking some of those and giving them to TV reporters without expecting severe consequences. And I was never a Cabinet member. I hope O’Neill gets out of this what he deserves, and a little more than just a few sales for the book that features him!

Richard C. Parsons

San Clemente