Goldman Sachs is just possibly the most reviled company in the United States today. It is also one of the most successful, which has caused management to be especially tone-deaf to its public relations crisis. Last week?s New York Times story about Ruth Simmons, the president of Brown University, showcases the depth of anti-Goldman sentiment. Ms. Simmons is under attack on the Ivy campus for ? of all things?being a director of Goldman Sachs. Not only is she a director, she was paid $323,539 last year by the company, and she had a role in deciding Lloyd Blankfein?s bonus. Naturally, this scandalous association has enraged students, one of whom was moved to assert that the president?s tenure had ?brought shame on the university.?

It is time for Goldman Sachs to play offense. They need to turn the public relations tide in their favor, for the good of the company, its employees and its shareholders. They have been ill-served by their left-footed spokespeople and by their inchoate approach to criticism. Really, we all thought they were smarter than this.