California's constitution provides that the University of California shall be kept free of all political influence. That clause should have made the Regents think twice before nominating a nationally prominent political figure such as Janet Napolitano for appointment as the new President of UC.  All the more so when many polls show that the California public is much concerned about the politicization of UC classrooms. But instead of carefully assessing the dangers of a political appointee, the Regents' search committee has stumbled thoughtlessly into a minefield, and is now on the point of bringing disaster to the University.   It's not that it's impossible to find a prominent political figure that could inspire confidence in his or her ability to lead a great university. Suppose, for example, that the search committee had chosen Leon Panetta.  Panetta is certainly a committed Democrat, but he is also widely respected in both parties as a man of great ability and...(Read Full Post)