Sometimes I agree with Rochdale Securities' Dick Bove. Sometimes I don't. Either way, he is as bright and independent-minded bank analyst as there is on the sell-side. And whether you buy his views or not, they tend to be well-argued and based on solid facts.   

Then again, sometimes Dick just goes off the deep end. He did again yesterday, for instance, with his note on Bank of America (BAC) that argues that the best choice for BofA's new CEO is none other than its current CEO, Ken Lewis:

It is increasingly evident that the government's vendetta against Bank of America's CEO has caused real harm to shareholders. Mr. Lewis, as is well known, quit. Now the government and Board of Directors cannot find someone to replace him. 

It is clear that the government wants an outsider or a replacement candidate from inside would have been selected by now. . . .

An outside candidate must be willing to take a cut in salary; give up his or her independence in running the business; and subject themselves to Congressional and press attacks on everything that they attempt. At the same time, it will take that person about five years to learn what Ken Lewis knows now about this company. The obvious candidate for the job is Ken Lewis. . . . [Emph. added] 

Dick, have you gone crazy? You've always had a soft spot for this egomaniacal, size-obsessed, value-destroying CEO. I can't understand why. You think the government's vendetta against Lewis has harmed shareholders? How about damage done by Lewis's own misbegotten term as CEO, which was marked by one value-destroying deal after another and, before that, his role carrying out Hugh McColl's long-term strategy of relentless dilution via serial acquisitions? The unquenchable McColl/Lewis deal machine, which finally choked on Merrill Lynch, is what brought BofA low in the end, not the government's second-guessing of who Lewis's successor should be.

I don't know what about the company's record under Ken Lewis "leadership" you don't see. In particular, you say yourself that Lewis, and only Lewis, knows enough about BofA to run the company effectively. Whose fault is that? One of the key jobs of any CEO is to put in place a succession plan. Lewis didn't, and look at the lurch he's left the company in. In the meantime, he's built an institution that the government views as too big to fail, employees view as too big to manage, and investors view as too big to grow. And you seem to think that's a good thing.  

Dick, get some therapy! Ken Lewis will be remembered as terrible CEO who drove his company into the ground, then left behind a senior management without a single individual capable of picking up the pieces. The sooner Ken Lewis is out of that executive suite, the better.