The market is in meltdown mode so the heat is on Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Christopher Cox.

A few days, I did a blog entry on John McCain talking tough and threatening to sack him. I just dismissed that as political opportunism.

Still, it's hard to go past this fascinating piece in Portfolio.com looking at the man's legacy and teh way he had reduced the SEC's enforcement power.

And Pennsylvania State University's J Edward Ketz calls for a "pox on Cox". Ketz doesn't pull any punches.

"During his tenure as SEC Chairman, Christopher Cox blunted any stockholder reforms, thus continuing the enervation of company owners. He promoted principles-based accounting so managers do not have to follow accounting rules and have more flexibility in manipulating their financial statements. SEC enforcements have not been rigorous because he wants to help his friends in corporate America. And when he had to enforce some rules because everybody was watching, he fined the firms (e.g., the SEC fined Freddie Mac $50 million) instead of the criminals who embezzled corporate funds. Or he gave them a slap on the wrist, such as Allied Capital, which had no fine whatsoever. And now when Lehman Brothers has declared bankruptcy, he is fighting the short sellers who helped expose the excesses at Lehman's, including the probable accounting frauds by that enterprise. He always chooses to support his buddies in corporate America and on Wall Street."

One thing for sure. When the history of the subprime and debt mess is written, Cox will not be spared.