Deja Vu All Over Again
Marcella Bombardieri in the Globe picks up on the latest Larry Summers controversy, his remarks at a conference on Native American studies.
Key quote: "The new controversy is another distraction for Summers at a time when many professors say the debate over his leadership, which culminated in a vote of no confidence last month, has paralyzed the administration. However, several critics and supporters of Summers alike said yesterday that they did not think the speech about Native Americans would significantly alter the campus discussion about the president, since most people's opinions about Summers are already hardened."
That last line about hardened opinions is particularly important, since it goes to the question of whether Summers can resuscitate his presidency. The worst of the women-in-science controversy may be past. But the lines of division are so deeply plowed, it's hard to see how Summers can smooth them over. Unless, perhaps, you are willing to take a long-term view--say, five to seven years. But how long is the Harvard Corporation going to allow the University's agenda to lie fallow (sorry, I'll stop now) so that Larry Summers can attempt to refurbish his reputation?
And that scenario assumes that no new controversy erupts, which would be an assumption based more on wishful thinking than past precedent.
