The critic Fred Cohn, in recounting the sorry tale for Opera News, assigns a substantial portion of the blame to the investment banker SusanBaker, who became the chairman of the board in 2004, and presided over a string of oblivious decisions.
For her part, as chief foreign policy advisor to Senator John Kerry during the 2004 presidential elections, Susan Rice reportedly convinced Kerry to announce that if elected he would appoint Jimmy Carter and James Baker to serve as his envoys for Middle East peace.