But not least of all, it’s because he is closely manicuring his image as both economist and higher education advocate, while striving to pacify critics.

“He is just generally sensitive to his political image in the broader sense, not just with regard to Washington,” a well-informed administrator says. “The contrast with other presidents I’ve known is considerable—he’s very attentive to how he appears.”

Professor of the History of Science Everett I. Mendelsohn says Summers has tried to exert much more influence over Dean of the Faculty William C. Kirby and Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71 than his predecessors, noting that “they feel constraints from across the old Yard”—where University administration building Mass. Hall sits.

“Rudenstine gave University Hall [the Faculty and College administration building] a large degree of autonomy on how they handled most things,” he says. “I think Summers wants a lot more influence—I felt that on a number of occasions on the Faculty Council, when we would be told, directly or indirectly, that the president really did want something to happen.”

Mendelsohn adds that Summers refused a faculty request for addressing homeland security questions through an ad hoc committee and was similarly possessive of handling the response to visa questions.

“He wanted to handle it through the president’s office,” Mendelsohn says.

Dan Glickman, who directs the Institute of Politics and served in the Clinton cabinet with Summers, says his choice of topics has been reflective of this attention to image.

“He has picked and chosen his issues wisely—by and large he has enhanced his reputation at Harvard nationally and internationally,” Glickman says. “He has recognized that you have to be a good politician to be a good president.”

MR. SUMMERS GOES TO WASHINGTON

But the question is, in trying to be a good president, is he also trying to be a good politician?

Though Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., said in January that Summers had given advice to him during his primary campaign, Summers insists he’s avoided any active political role because the Harvard presidency should not be a partisan position.

Nonetheless, Summers remains close with many in Washington and is a frontrunner, under a Kerry administration, to replace Alan Greenspan when his tenure as Chairman of the Federal Reserve expires in 2006, according to several published reports.

Over the last year, Summers has co-chaired a highly-publicized Council on Foreign Relations task force with former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger ’50. They concluded their year-long work in March, when Summers traveled to D.C. to release the findings: the United States’ relationship with Europe is strained and both sides must work to bridge the gap. He has also begun to speak out on major economic issues separate from the academy, like the lecture he delivered to the Institute for International Economics on the problem of low American savings and his trip to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum.

“He is a leading economist of his day, so it is quite natural for him to comment on issues relating to the world economy,” Katz says.

Rubin even says he should address more economic issues of public interest.