Poor little Secretary-General. . .

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who presided over the biggest financial scandal in world history, "is said to be struggling with depression and considering his future," reports the Sunday Times of London. A report is due this week from Paul Volcker's investigative commission, and blogger Roger Simon reports:

The report may reveal, among other things, startling information tending to indicate Secretary General Kofi Annan had more knowledge of, or was closer to, his son Kojo's activities with Cotecna--the company whose role in the scandal seems so pervasive--than previously thought.

Depending on the findings, the Times says, "Annan may have to choose between the secretary-generalship and loyalty to his son." And he's having mood swings, the poor man:

One close observer at the UN said Annan's moods were like a "sine curve" and that he appeared near the bottom of the trough. . . .

In the end Annan's feelings may be more decisive than the facts.

Somehow when the various recent corporate scandals broke--Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, etc.--we don't remember the press being so solicitous of the feelings of miscreant and negligent executives.

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