Shots In The Dark

Larry Summers' press secretary, the much-debated Lucie McNeil, is leaving Summers' employ for greener pastures--the National Geographic Society. The Boston Globe has a little item on the news, including a reference to one of my more curious encounters with her.

McNeil says she had planned to leave before the latest brouhaha, and who could blame her? Her job couldn't have been easy. Nonetheless, she enjoyed a less-than-stellar reputation with reporters who covered Summers, and was known for either a) rudely keeping them at a distance, or b) yelling at reporters whose work she disapproved of.

The question I could never figure out: Was this just her nature, or was she merely following orders?

Either way, it'll be interesting--and telling--to see who her replacement will be.

And has anyone kept track of personnel turnover at Harvard in the past few years? I'd bet a lot that it has never been higher.