"There were serious questions about her objectivity," said George Grayson, who has been president of the foundation since January.
But it does raise serious questions about their objectivity, at a time when the equity-research business is already under pressure.
The company raised serious doubts about its objectivity when Diebold's then-chief executive wrote a fund-raising letter expressing his dedication to delivering Ohio for President George W. Bush in 2004.
Of course, tainted objectivity is a serious problem, as acknowledged last week when the Securities and Exchange Commission issued an "investor alert" warning investors to be on guard against biased advice.
Fortunately, Kenneth O Morgan's record as both an academic and popular historian protects him from suspicion that he wrote Michael Foot: A Life without observing the rules of objectivity that a serious work on the career of a major politician requires.
Daniel S. Greenberg, author of the 2001 book "Science, Money and Politics" (University of Chicago Press), said in an interview that he thought the odds of success were "pretty poor," in part because of the widespread belief that such activity is inappropriate for serious researchers or taints their objectivity.
While objectivity is good, accuracy is better.
Moreover, serious questions have been raised about Badinter's objectivity, particularly having to do with her arguments against breastfeeding, in light of her financial ties to corporations that produce infant formula, including Nestle and the makers of Similac and Enfamil.
Leading authorities in the scientific and drug reform community have serious doubts about Leonhart's personal capacity for logical objectivity and her willingness to accept the scientific evidence concerning the therapeutic application of medical marijuana.
Notwithstanding the inherent lack of objectivity in this view of IFE, a number of serious, and false, allegations have been aired against IFE, which has a proven track record of promoting community cohesion.
