GRACE UNDER FIRE

You're not having a good day when a U.S. senator tells you he gets heartburn when he hears some of the things that come out of your mouth. Worse is when two senators tell you that. FCC Chairman Michael Powell often has stated that market-driven solutions are preferable to heavy-handed regulation when it comes to curing what ails the telecom industry. That position got him a tongue lashing from Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., who warned the chairman to move cautiously on deregulation of the industry, especially if it were to result in the extension of monopolies they said cable and the Bell companies currently enjoy. The vitriol that spewed from Dorgan and Hollings during a Commerce Committee hearing clearly exposed their frustration with the current state of telecom. To his credit, Powell took the attacks in stride. He made no excuses for his policies or philosophies, other than to say he has been misperceived as someone who is against regulation. Lesser people would have wilted from the heat, which is why Powell is the right person to lead the FCC at this juncture. Think what you might about his direction of the commission and his policies, but be clear on this: Powell is his own man who will continue to tell people — including powerful senators — what he thinks, not what they want to hear. Which is good, because just as surely as some former WorldCom executives will be going to jail, the heat on Powell will continue to be turned up until telecom recovers.