Lawrence Di Rita came to prominence in Washington as a flunky of Donald Rumsfeld and a spokesman for the Defense Department. He did not endear himself to reporters there. Now, he's a spokesman for ... Bank of America. It actually fits his skill set well: Di Rita spent years flacking on behalf of a war effort that involved the bamboozling of the American people, working for one of the most arrogant men in politics. Now he's flacking on behalf of a bank that's spent years bamboozling its customers and regulators, working for some of the most arrogant CEOs in business. I have no idea how Di Rita will follow this one up -- there aren't many more pernicious institutions than the Rumsfeld-era Pentagon or the 2006-2009 era megabanks. Wherever Di Rita goes, though, look out for a serious public policy crisis to follow. -- Tim Fernholz
