Larry Summers

All the talk about Larry Summers as possible candidate for Treasury Secretary reminds me of listening to a talk he gave 10 years ago to the New York State Bankers Association. The talk was so dense and opaque that many in the audience looked about, wondering whether they would be given a snap quiz on the subject matter.

The problem appears to me to be that Mrs. Summers' little boy Lawrence doesn't play well with other kids. Stanley Fish hits the nail on the head: Summers does not possess the virtues that a Treasury Secretary needs at this moment in history, when there are likely to be tense negotiations with Congress, foreign finance ministers and other stakeholders, before a way out of the current economic crisis is fashioned.

Death to Intellectuals

You may think from recent posts that I have an unhealthy obsession with Sarah Palin. The triumph of Barack Obama's election is the signal it sends, at least to me, that the intellect has not been totally discounted in this country, despite an alarming rise during the Bush reign of Know-Nothingism and scorn for rational thought. Sarah Palin represents to me the end-product of the Bush gestalt, and so I remain anxious for the future of thoughtful, rational, analytical government.

Dick Cavett on Sarah Palin

For those of you who might have missed it, Dick Cavett's blog entry today, The Wild Wordsmith of Wasilla,  on the subject of Sarah Palin and the death of language is masterful. I commend it to all who love America's "native" tongue.

If you want to watch Matt Lauer's interview, have fun:

Part II:

The Republic has survived a lot, but this may be a sign of the end.