HP Hearing: Passing Bucks in A Morality Play

So what's the verdict the day after the seven or so hour long Congressional grilling of HP? Two of my favorites:

Brian McDonough does a analysis of buck-passing that would make John Madden proud over at the Recorder's Legal Pad:

The Hewlett-Packard folk testifying before Congress today passed the buck so many times, it should've been the trigger for some unlikely C-SPAN drinking game.

And over at the San Jose Mercury News, Scott Herhold does a close reading of the hearing's morality play:

But at the end of the day – and the end is what counts in politics – Hurd was served up the softest of softballs by U.S. Rep. Michael C. Burgess of the 26th District of Texas.[...]

Then Hurd invoked the deity: "One of our founders, David Packard, said, 'There'll never be a time when we don't make mistakes. The defining point will be what we do about them.' I promise we are committed to our core to define our company in a way we can be proud of.''

That was what the panel craved – the penance, the vow to sin no more, even the hope that HP will put a plant in their district. If nothing else, Hurd's testimony demonstrated just how much high-tech executives have learned about the needs of Congress.

My first take on Hurd's performance is here, but it's not as good as these.

Photo: casalingarevival