While it's important to condemn WorldCom's accounting misrepresentations, it's also useful to be aware of an aspect of the case that is
not being reported, i.e., Ebbers aggressive effort to open up for competition what George Gilder calls the "last mile" of telecommunication (the wire that terminates at the consumer's home), and the equally aggressive effort of ATT's Michael Armstrong to
stop WorldCom at all costs, an effort which was aided and abetted at every turn by the big government regulatory ploys of Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-SC).
WorldCom's downfall is not only about fraudulent accounting. It's also about business/political hardball, and a very good case can be made that it was Ebbers, not Armstrong, who was on the side of the angels.
Let's not forget that Armstrong was instrumental in the Chinese getting missile guidance technology under clinton's watch - he's a rotten egg.