AIG CEO draws mixed review

Liddy appeared evasive during “Today” show appearance, but finished interview strong

Amidst the deepening economic gloom, many CEOs of large companies have been forced to face the media to defend their positions.

Yesterday, it was Edward Liddy’s turn. The CEO of floundering insurance giant AIG appeared on the “Today” show after it was announced another $30 billion is being made available to the company by the government.

A review of Liddy’s performance results in a mixed bag.

Interviewed by Matt Lauer, Liddy immediately went to his “home base” (main message) of his concern for protecting AIG policyholders.

“We’re not bailing out AIG all by itself. We’re really protecting the policy holders,” Liddy told Lauer.

The first problem … it didn’t make sense (nor did it answer Lauer’s question about the additional funds, “Is it throwing good money after bad?”). How does “not bailing out AIG all by itself” relate to “really protecting the policy holder?” This is confusing.