July 14, 2006

Penn's President Derides the BS

By PAUL FAIN

One of the problems with extremist, doctrinaire rhetoric is that it is often "bullshit."

So said Amy Gutmann, president of the University of Pennsylvania, in a speech last month at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, in Washington.

The comment evoked titters from the mostly college-age audience, but Ms. Gutmann is serious about the perils of extremist rhetoric, a topic on which she is writing a book.

"It demeans opponents, and it radically simplifies the