ELITE ETHNOGRAPHY

THERE WAS a nice symmetry to the indictment of David Stockman - an early
conspirator in the economics of greed - and the resignation as head of
the Smithsonian Lawrence Small, who attempted to apply the principles of
this economics to one of the country's most sacred secular institutions.


CARRIE JOHNSON, WASHINGTON POST - David A. Stockman, a chief architect
of President Ronald Reagan's economic revolution turned Wall Street
money man, was indicted Monday on charges of conspiracy, securities
fraud and obstruction of justice. . . First elected to the House of
Representatives at age 30, the boy wonder grew in stature when he was
named Reagan's first director of the Office of Management and Budget. In
that post he became the highly visible point man for the "trickle-down"
economic doctrine of the 1980s. . . Stockman's eventual exit from
government in the mid-1980s made him hugely wealthy. The long-haired
workaholic with the oversized eyeglasses wrote a book about the perils
of political life and the struggles of truth-telling in Washington.
Eventually he joined the Blackstone Group, a lucrative private
investment partnership that brought him tens of millions of dollars.
But he remains best known for his bold projections as Reagan's first OMB
director. Reagan chastised his young budget chief for expressing doubts
to a Washington Post editor about massive defense spending, tax cuts and
the resulting deficits at the same time he was selling the plan to the
public and the Congress. The article threw Washington into uproar.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/26/AR2007032600518.html


WASHINGTON POST - Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence M. Small, the banker
who took over the world's largest museum complex seven years ago, has
resigned under pressure following revelations regarding his housing
allowance and office and travel expenditures. . . Small, the first
Smithsonian secretary who was not a scientist or an academic, brought a
corporate mentality to an institution that long resembled a university
campus. The result was a culture clash, with Small pushing to rename
facilities after wealthy donors, for example. That offended longtime
Smithsonian researchers who thought he was compromising the
institution's values. . . Controversy was a frequent feature of his
tenure. In 2004, Small was convicted in federal court of purchasing the
feathers of endangered birds. A Post investigation into animal care and
deaths at the National Zoo brought reprimands from a leading science
group and dismissal of the zoo director, who was handpicked by Small.
Early in his tenure Small angered scientists over proposed changes in
research across the institution. He eventually backed down. Last year he
upset historians and filmmakers seeking access to institution archives
when he signed a semi-exclusive deal with Showtime to mine the
Smithsonian's resources for a documentary film channel.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/26/
AR2007032600643_pf.html


NY TIMES - Mr. Small was only the second nonscientist to lead the
institution, and his lack of scientific credentials created friction
with many of the scientists at the 6,000-employee institution from the
start. Soon after taking office, he drew their ire by announcing the
closing of several facilities, including the Conservation and Research
Center near Front Royal, Va., which is known worldwide for training
conservation scientists.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/27/arts/27museum.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

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