Summers as Martyr
Meanwhile, over at Foxnews.com, the march to turn Larry Summers into a right-wing martyr to political correctness continues. Summers is used as the prime example in an anti-PC diatribe.
Here's what Foxnews.com contributor Wendy McElroy has to say:
Last January, when Harvard University President Lawrence Summers raised the mere possibility of biological differences as an explanation for the 'gender imbalance' in science, a vicious PC backlash forced him to apologize publicly no less than three times. After what some called his "Soviet-show-trial-style apologies," Summers made an act of contrition by pledging "to spend $50 million over the next decade to improve the climate for women on campus."
Sigh. Where to begin? President Summers didn't raise the "mere possibility" of gender imbalances. He strongly suggested their reality, and dared his audience to "prove me wrong." Then there's the question of whether genuine outrage and "vicious PC backlash" are the same. (Answer: sometimes, perhaps, but not in this case.) And who exactly does Fox cite (in a hyperlink) as the source of that "Soviet-show-trial-style apologies" line? Well, it comes from the National Journal's Stuart Taylor, who's pretty right-wing himself. So that's kind of like Dick Cheney quoting Jesse Helms as an objective authority.
Irony watch: Clinton-administration economic hero Larry Summers has become a right-wing hero.
Beyond irony, this is a very tricky position for Summers—it means he's lost the left, but at the same time, he's really not a good fit for conservatives, and if he spoke out against something they believe in, he'd lose that base of support fast.
Hmmm. Perhaps that explains his silence on intelligent design.
