I am a fan of Obama but this list is troubling. That said, directors do not have general day-to-day management of financial functions of most corporations. SOX requires only that the CEO and CFO attest to the accuracy of public reporting. That said, directors do have a duty to be awake, vigilant and informed of the affairs of the corporation they are supervising. However, there are probably as many infractions as there are directors out there that most directors were unaware of–they rely on corporate officers and outside experts to alert them to problems. It’s not like these directors have their calculators out during the financial presentations at the board meetings…
I think O is looking for some people with some vision to provide economic guidance and solutions to some very tough problems. I would like to see some alternates proposed however to provide the trust needed.