The Right Summers-Bush Analogy Posted by Suzanne Nossel

Blogger David Bernstein suggests that the Harvard faculty's vote of no confidence against President Larry Summers was motivated by displaced frustration with Bush.  There is an analogy, but it works the other way around.  Summers' situation resembles that of ousted New York Times Editor-in-Chief Howell Raines.  Raines was roundly disliked at the paper because of his arrogance, high-handedness and disregard for the views of those weaker than him.  Likewise Summers.   

Both men were strong and sure-footed in leading high-profile institutions, so much so that despite how unpopular they were it was virtually inconceivable that either could be vulnerable to ouster.  In both instances, the men were responsible for a critical misstep (in Raines' case the failure of oversight that led to publication of numerous fabricated stories by disgraced former reporter Jayson Blair).  Once that happened, the groundswell of animosity surged to the point where their leadership came into question.   Few were willing to give the leaders the benefit of the doubt and, smelling blood, detractors pounced and did not let go until, in Raines' case, a few careers were destroyed.

There's reason to fear that the Bush Administration may be similarly vulnerable.  The rest of the world for the most part dislikes Bush; anti-Americanism is at an all time high.   Yet the U.S. is powerful enough and Bush has racked up sufficient accomplishments that he seems invulnerable.  The question is what happens if a bad mistake gets made - a more serious version of the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade or the shoot-out involving the Italian journalist and her bodyguard.    Would the U.S.'s detractors all pounce, with the result of an outsized blow to America's image and influence?  If there's any analogy to Summers and Raines, the signs are ominous.

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