You think Ed Whitacre, head honcho of AT&T Inc., was worried powerful members of the Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee didn’t like the idea of his spending $67 billion to buy another Baby Bell—this time, BellSouth Corp.—thereby creating the biggest telecom company on Earth and making a mockery of the court-ordered breakup of Ma Bell and the competition-themed 1996 telecom act?
Nah, me neither.
It’s hard to rattle ol’ Ed, though I don’t know if I’d want to be around if someone managed to get his dander up.
So there was Big Ed, seated at the witness table, left hand on chin, rocking back and forth in easy cadence as lawmakers hurled hostile questions at him and spewed mini, venomous speeches on the proposed AT&T-BellSouth deal. Oh me, oh my, the world might never be the same if No. 1 Cingular Wireless L.L.C. were put totally under the roof of AT&T!
Other executives might have been shaking in their boots, pleading for mercy, under such haranguing. Not Ed. He just kept rocking with a look of quiet confidence—if not serious indifference.
Then Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) turned on the heat, pressing Ed on whether AT&T was helping the National Security Agency carry out its post-9/11 warrantless surveillance program.
Ed didn’t give an inch, each time answering that “we follow the law.” It was hard to tell what steamed Specter more, Ed’s Johnny-one-note answer or the fact he wasn’t rattled. Probably a little of both.
Specter’s hissy fit ended with an impassioned senatorial declaration that Ed’s answer was contemptuous of the committee. I thought it was deliciously refreshing. Individuals who testify before congressional committees are coached to be contrite and conciliatory, letting lawmakers know in no uncertain terms they understand who decides who shall live and who shall die in America’s capitalist system. Not this tough, wily Texan from Ennis. He didn’t wilt under political pressure, he stood his ground. Ed wouldn’t back down.
And, really, what was there to fear? When was the last time the Senate Judiciary antitrust panel or its parent committee blocked a major telecom merger? There’s lots of chest-beating and hand-wringing from Judiciary members every time a big telecom deal is announced, but it quickly fades away with little consequence.
Ed let the boys in the band howl themselves silly. When the hearing was over, Ed took a few questions from the press. Then he rose gingerly from his chair, flashed an easy, knowing smile to reporters, with a “see you guys later” sign-off. Ed’s got it figured out. He is about to climb atop the telecom world. Once there, with the BellSouth acquisition done, he’ll likely bid farewell and ride off into the sunset.
