Given his reputation as an intellectual bully, many wonder whether Mr Summers can play that role.

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Moreover, given his reputation for analytical savvy, I would have expected him to see what a lousy investment solar cells are.

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Given his previous reputation as one of Labour's most able politicians he has provided Downing Street with more than his fair share of hoo-hahs for its spin doctors to deflate.

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One said Thomas who has played for San Antonio's Gregg Popovich, Miami's Pat Riley, Chicago's Tom Thibodeau and former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy would get looks, too, given his pedigree and reputation.

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And it is interesting to speculate on what might have happened to his reputation if he had been given the interior ministry that he so coveted, and thus been responsible for the French police during the Algerian war or the events of 1968.

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Given Mr Erdogan's reputation as a savvy politician, there is puzzlement in Ankara over why he shifted his ground on the penal code so abruptly.

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