On March 6, former first lady Nancy Reagan passed away at the age of 94. To her critics, she perhaps symbolized an overly simplistic view when it came to complex problems (her “Just Say No” anti-drug campaign remains a benchmark for good-intentioned naivete among many people my age). To her supporters, she was part of the Greatest Generation’s impact on America, and of course, an integral part of the Regan era, which saw a return to American prosperity, international influence, and national pride. But for many, regardless of their politics, Nancy Reagan was a symbol of a more patrician and genteel kind of politics that seems strangely alien in today’s campaign environment.
I bring this up cautiously, because Compliance Week is not a forum for discussing politics per se, nor is it my role as its chief editor to inject politics into our larger discussions about corporate ethics, compliance, risk, and governance. But we are in the middle of a remarkably unusual campaign season and, whatever its outcome, it would appear that there are major implications for corporate compliance in our future.
