February 20, 2006
MORE FRUITS OF APPEASEMENT
Larry Summers's effort to appease the leftist P.C. crowd on Harvard's faculty has not only failed to slake their thirst for his blood, but it has alienated his supporters. Why, they ask, should they defend him if he's unwilling to defend himself?
"...Summers’ problem, as many of his supporters see it, is that he has tried, unsuccessfully, to appease his critics—and in doing so, alienated his proponents.
“I think the problem now is he’s not making anyone happy,” said Pinker, the Johnstone Family professor of psychology. “He’s made his critics think he’s weak, and made it a little harder for his supporters to find anything to support.”
Pinker’s comments were striking because the psychologist had been so outspoken in his support of Summers during the thick of last winter’s women-in-science storm. In a late January 2005 interview with The New York Times, for example, Pinker hailed Summers as a “refreshing” change from past presidents.
But asked on Wednesday whether he still had confidence in Summers, Pinker hesitated, then qualified his response.
“Yeah, but—I’d like to see a little more positive leadership,” Pinker said.
Another well-known Summers supporter, Kenan Professor of Government Harvey C. Mansfield ’53, also said he wanted the president to respond forcefully to his opponents.
“He needs to start defending himself,” Mansfield said, “and to answer and refute his miserable critics...”
See the rest here.
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