Summers Declines Comment at Home

WASHINGTON--Reached at his Bethesda home 500 miles from snowy Cambridge, Lawrence H. Summers Friday night declined comment on the news of his selection as Harvard's 27th president.

"I can't confirm or deny anything," Summers said, standing at his front door of his brick house under a full moon.

Wearing a white Oxford shirt and khaki pants, the former treasury secretary appeared relaxed. His two cats appeared first at the open door when a reporter arrived.

Neighbors in the upper-middle class neighborhood say Summers' work ethic has always impressed them.

"He left early in the morning and got home late at night. I imagine it will be the same at Harvard," neighbor Jim Beggs said.

--Melissa K. Crocker contributed to the reporting of this story..

--Staff writer David H. Gellis can be reached at gellis@fas.harvard.edu.