The last time ex-Harvard prez Larry Summers was in the news, he had made some choice remarks about potential disparities in innate mathematical and scientific abilities between men and women that embarrassed the hell out of Harvard and himself. There were apologies afterward, but Summers continued to be remembered as the Ivy League misogynist, not the man that counseled Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and a burger named after the Harvard president was even removed from a Boston restaurant’s menu.

Now he’s been selected as head of the National Economic Council under the Obama Administration, despite concerns that he may act like an insufferable know-it-all without regard for public opinion.

The New York Times reports:

As the head of the National Economic Council, he will play two roles: counseling the president and nurturing the proposals of others. Few doubt that Mr. Summers will excel in the first; Democrats and Republicans call him one of the top economic minds in the country, with a résumé that may make him overqualified for the job.

Even Mr. Summers’s allies, though, acknowledge worries about the second part of his role. Mr. Summers, in an interview, said a crucial part of the job was exposing the president “to all possible views, developed as strongly and rigorously as they can be.”

But at Harvard, numerous faculty members and administrators say, Mr. Summers’s downfall resulted chiefly from his tendency to impose rather than persuade, to appear to have little regard for the views of others.

“He’s going to have to ensure that he does not stifle debate or intimidate people,” said Roger Porter, a colleague at the Harvard Kennedy School and a former adviser to three presidents, who is otherwise confident about Mr. Summers’s performance.

David Gergen, also a Harvard Kennedy School professor and White House veteran, asked: “Will it all be tea and cookies in there with Larry?” Of course not, but it shouldn’t be.”

I can’t quite conceive of how one might be “overqualified” to advise the president on the American economy, however I’d rather an adviser be overqualified (if that’s even possible) to guide executive decisions during the econalypse than incompetent. One can only hope that Summers has learned to speak more carefully after his disastrous commentary in 2005. Maybe if he behaves himself, he’ll even get his burger namesake back.