They haven't had nice things to say about him over the past year and a half. Called him McSleeps a lot and, oh, the jokes about his Diet Coke consumption came fast and furiously. But now that he's announced he's taking off, suddenly the business community wants the lovable schlub back, according to Charlie Gasparino. Apparently no one wants ot live in a world without Big Lar.

Larry Summers may have been a nonentity for most of his tenure as President Obama's chief economist, but his departure still has the business community terrified. At the very least, he was seen as a competent moderate in an administration that veered left -- and may now veer further left, and possibly become less competent from an economic standpoint. Larry Summers' massive ego and lack of on-the-ground business experience (he was Bill Clinton's Treasury secretary and spent a short time at a hedge fund) may have made him less than a perfect fit as the nation's chief economist -- but at least he was a moderate with a clue. What scares the business community is that he'll be replaced by someone immoderate without any clue.