Avoid

Posted on 11/07/2008 at 11:57 am by Bob Cesca

Larry Summers for Treasury would probably be the first Obama decision that I would have serious problems with. In addition to being another former Clinton guy, he’s a polarizing figure with a laundry list of controversies tied around his neck… charges of racism, Israel, AIDS and PEPFAR, pollution and this famous one about women from 2005:

The president of Harvard University, Lawrence H. Summers, sparked an uproar at an academic conference Friday when he said that innate differences between men and women might be one reason fewer women succeed in science and math careers.

And:

The percentage of tenured job offers made to women by the university’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences has dropped dramatically since Summers took office, prompting vigorous complaints from many of Harvard’s senior female professors.

I mean, talk about drama and distractions. The focus has to be on the economy — not rehashing a dozens of controversial remarks. I seriously can’t believe that the president-elect would go down this road.

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  • http://livefreeordie08.wordpress.com LiveFreeOrDie08

    To borrow an old saying I remember from somewhere in my past, “country first”. I am fine with Obama evaluating candidates based on their SKILLS first and foremost. If it should come down to the fact that Summers is the most qualified person for the job, I would need to see a very strong argument for not giving him the job based purely on political calcualtion. It’s kind of the inverse-Palin theory.My guess is that there will be a selection of candidates with equal capability. If it’s possible to get the same level of competency for less drama – that’s a decision that makes sense.

  • http://obamaproject.windonwater.net QueenTiye

    Um… the link to the “charges of racism” come from Cornel West, a brilliant brother, but a blowhard just the same. I like Cornel, for the scholarly look at aspects of black culture most people ignore, but I otherwise don’t take him all that seriously. And the further link to the “political spat” referenced in the article goes to a Wikipedia article that nowhere supports the argument that Summers and West fell out over race, nor even hip hop as West is quoted as saying in the article. Is there more to this charge of racism?QT

  • http://livefreeordie08.wordpress.com LiveFreeOrDie08

    Here’s an argument in favor of Summers from what sounds to be a pretty credible character reference:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sheryl-sandberg/what-larry-summers-has-do_b_142126.html

  • http://obamaproject.windonwater.net QueenTiye

    And – for science and reality based groups – Summers ill-stated concerns about the statistical differences between men and women in science and math ought not be thrown away just because of political incorrectness. I have similar issues with bell curve science about black intelligence. Its uncomfortable, but I don’t want to knee jerk and say “racism!” I want to test the hypothesis, dig into the assumptions, foster hard debate.I dunno. It just looks like this guy drew the short straw. Maybe the treasury secretary should be a better communicator than this guy seems to be, but the charges against him seem thin.QT

  • bacaangel

    To me, the only thing that really matters is his ideas and solutions on the economy. We all have baggage and we all have gifts. If his gift is economic understanding, then that is what he should be allowed to do.