A Simple Cost-Benefit Analysis for Elena Kagan

Why would Elena Kagan give up the deanship of Harvard Law School, for which she has been widely celebrated, for the cloistered life of the Supreme Court?  Um, let's see.  Perhaps the ad wizards at American Express MasterCard (thanks for the correction, Mike!) can help us out here:

• Hiring every law professor in the country: Sweet.
• Realizing that you now have to preside over faculty meetings involving every law professor in the country: Not so much.
• Hiring every law professor in the country and then getting the hell out of Dodge: Priceless!