James Johnson, Toxic Asset

“Mr. Johnson has been at the center of several egregious corporate governance debacles. … We believe Mr. Johnson’s history should disqualify him from service on the board of any public company.” Managers of the Sequoia Fund are campaigning to vote former Mondale campaign manager, Obama veep-vetter, and Man Who Destroyed the World (as head of Fannie Mae) James Johnson off the board of Goldman Sachs, a position for which (Felix Salmon reports) he was paid $523,000 last year. He’s also on the board of Target Corp…. Somewhere, Matt Cooper is smiling. … P.S.: Self-righteous and self-serving, Johnson is an appropriate symbol for much of what’s wrong with both Washington in general and the Democratic Party in particular. Is it possible to screw up so badly that you become toxic even by Wall Street standards? Johnson’s continuation on Goldman’s board suggests the answer is no. …