In the LA Times, September 18, 2007, issue it was reported that Mr. Chemerinsky was rehired as the UC Irvine campus dean of the new law school. Now that the Irvine campus train is back on track from a derail, let us examine some of the possible views of what did take place and what will take place if Machiavelli was still alive to report to us.

Mr. Chemerinsky can ask for more money or any other perk he wishes in “payment” for suffering during the hiring process. Machiavelli’s guess is it will not be money but some hidden payment such as allowing Chemerinsky to be active in his advocacy of issues.

One might expect that the experience of the past few weeks might intimidate Mr. Chemerinsky, intimidate him into staying in his foxhole and not come out to influence issues. If this is true, then the conservatives have won a small victory. If the chancellor did a deal with Chemerinsky to not impede his penchant for activism, then the conservatives may have lost this part of the battle.

The chancellor has lost some prestige and with that power. In the near term, Chemerinsky can help the chancellor regain some of his lost power by supporting the chancellor and the university. In the long term, the people will rather quickly forget this part of history and as time is added to the existence of the campus, it may give the chancellor opportunities to show his stuff.

Both the chancellor and Chemerinsky need one another for mutual protection and survival for a year or two. The more people around these two see them being together the better it will be for both. The chancellor cannot now cut any support for Chemerinsky or this whole episode will be dragged up again as part of any explanation. Chemerinsky needs the chancellor’s support to move forward with his build out of the law school. The chancellor needs a successful well built out law school and Chemerinsky is now the man for the job. Both men need to be seen by the community as getting along for the better reputation of the campus. We should expect to see these two men in photographs shaking hands with wide grins on their faces for some time to come.

The chancellor might, himself be intimidated by interfering in matters that before this episode took place he would feel compelled to step in with regard to the process of building out the law school. Now that public opinion is on Chemerinsky’s side, he has sympathy for being wronged; he now has a stronger hand to do as he wishes.

None of this need be true but it is fun to think of what might have happened and what is next.