The Bush administration has finally decided that it better get serious about the recent wave of corporate misconduct. Unfortunately, the rhetoric spoken by President George W. Bush in his New York speech July 9 on business ethics rings hallow because is at odds with his own past in the private sector.

Bush’s problem is that while he was a sitting member of the board of directors of Harken Energy, he took advantage of many of the same shady business practices he now criticizes.

For starters, Bush sold $800,000 of Harken stock in June of 1990, two months before the company reported much higher losses than projected. When asked about the sale, Bush said that he wasn’t aware of the inaccurate loss reports until after the sale.

But in his speech, Bush urged “board members to check the quality of their company’s financial statements; to ask tough questions about accounting methods.” You know, like he didn’t.

When Bush was asked why the Securities and Exchange Commission did not receive the requisite papers to document the sale until eight months after they were due, Bush first said the SEC lost the document and then blamed his lawyers for losing it.

But in his speech, Bush called for “higher ethical standards – standards enforced by strict laws.” You know, like the strict law he didn’t follow.

According to slate.com, Bush defended an accounting gimmick that allowed Harken to hide losses incurred when it sold off a subsidiary by saying “in the corporate world, sometimes things aren’t exactly black and white when it comes to accounting procedures. Sometimes there’s differences – an ability to interpret one way or the other.”

But in his speech, Bush said businesses must stop shading the truth, cutting ethical corners and blurring the line between right and wrong. You know, like Harken Energy did.

When pressed on details surrounding his dealings with Harken, Bush and presidential spokesman Ari Fleischer continue to point out that the SEC has already investigated the incident and has decided there was nothing illegal about it.

But in his speech, Bush proposed giving the agency an extra $100 million next year to pay for 100 new enforcement officers. He said the SEC was not doing enough to curb corporate malfeasance. Well, not in his case, that is.

Expecting Bush to get tough on the permissive corporate culture that led to Enron and WorldCom and all the rest is laughable because Bush has been part of that culture and will be again when he moves out of the Oval Office.

Let’s hope Congress recognizes this and decides to get tough on corporations without the helpful advice of one of their own.

Editorial Board: Dave Roepke, Erin Randolph, Charlie Weaver, Megan Hinds, Rachel Faber Machacha