Not to say that you are wrong, Dave, because I don't think you are and LORD knows you're knowledge of both Commodore and hardware vastly outstrips mine, but... you don't really think that the loss of the Los Gatos team was ever a good idea, do you?
To me, the loss of the Los Gatos team was like Queen Isabella dumping Columbus for a skilled captain without the knowledge of the trade winds. The new captain might know how to manage his ship, but that doesn't mean he has the wherewithall to complete the voyage to the Americas.
I don't say this to lessen the contributions of yourself or the rest of the West Chester team, but the Los Gatos Team had not only intimate knowledge of the product but the vision for where it was to go, not to mention it was "their baby."
In normal business situations like this, most businesses _bend over backwards_ to keep their prime players around, including accomodating them from across the country.
From my -- admittedly less knowledgable point of view -- this seems to reflect that Commodore was more interested in applying the C64 model inspired by Tramiel to the Amiga than the cutting-edge hardware model that it deserved. They should have been applying a premium amount of money to keep their edge over the competition and this should have included sucking up to the Los Gatos team by whatever means necessary.
But, once again, I admit limitted knowledge on the subject.
