The political death penalty for unfortunate gaffes

Kathleen Parker:

Fresh ire aimed at former Harvard University President Larry Summers prompts the question: Shouldn't there be a statute of limitations on dumb things expressed in public?

(Please say yes.)

Forever accursed is the economist and Clinton-era treasury secretary for having raised -- more than three years ago -- the eensy-weensy possibility that innate differences between men and women might explain in part why more men than women reach the top echelons in math and science.

His comments, though not completely without scientific basis, unleashed a millennium worth of female scorn, making Hell a suddenly attractive destination for the discriminating traveler in search of cooler climes.

Research pointing to male-female differences that could partly explain different career outcomes is available to anyone in search of clues to the gender universe. But let's not go there. The social construct versus hard-wiring debate will continue unabated until the last woman utters: "No, honey, you stay in bed. I'll go see what that noise was."

For these purposes, let's stipulate that Summers said a dumb thing. He didn't, really. Provocative, yes, but it was a question about theory, not an assertion of belief. Impolitic? Without question. Still, we'll call it dumb.

Should said offense forevermore disqualify Summers from public service? Or even public appearances?

Summers was driven out of Harvard following his remarks. In September 2007, he was dropped as the keynote speaker at a University of California Board of Regents meeting when a female professor circulated a petition to have his invitation withdrawn.

Now, feminists have begun raising objections over speculation he might be considered for a second term as treasury secretary....

...

I guess we also have to forgive Kathleen Parker for saying dumb things about Sarah Palin, because Palin strikes me as the kind of woman who would grab a weapon and go find out what the noise was.

As for Summers, I didn't think his statement was all that dumb. It was a gaffe in the classic sense of being impolitic but largely true. It was an observation and not a statement of policy anyway.

I know many successful women some of whom are brilliant at math. What they chose to do with their lives is a result of more than a social construct. They are people with free will and they make career choices based on the life they want to live.

It should also be pointed out that the death penalty for gaffes does not apply to people like Joe Biden or Barack Obama. Otherwise, they would not have won the election. The death penalty for gaffes usually is imposed on people the liberals did not like much to begin with.