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Obama rumored tapping Google's Schmidt as Commerce Secretary
http://www.electronista.com/ ^ | Fri March 18, 2011

Posted on 03/18/2011 1:07:52 PM PDT by Lucky9teen

Numerous rumors have pinpointed Google's soon-to-be-outgoing CEO Eric Schmidt as a candidate for Secretary of Commerce. President Obama is reportedly close to picking the executive and could make the decision public within two weeks. SAI in picking up on discussions didn't name alternative candidates.

He would be available as of April 4, when Larry Page becomes Google CEO and Schmidt under current plans would be Executive Chairman.

Hints of a nomination have been few, but Reagan-era Commerce Department counsel Clyde Prestowitz declared earlier this week in Foreign Policy magazine that Schmidt would be good for the job.

Schmidt coming in would shoot down the prospect of current FCC head Julius Genachowski being moved into the role to get a firmer opinion on net neutrality. The motivations for choosing the Google executive weren't immediately mentioned, but his deep experience with a modern Internet-based economy and awareness of issues such as net neutrality might help him shape policy more effectively.

Controversies could come up with a Schmidt appointment. He may have bowed out from the CEO spot after a disagreement with Page and other Google co-founder Sergey Brin over the principles of staying in China. Brin has objected to China's hacking attempts to track down dissenters and was key to the partial exit, while Schmidt has seen China as too important to Google's bottom line to back out.

Google has usually argued in favor of net neutrality and might get a supporter in the Commerce Secretary spot. However, Google's decision to compromise its values for Verizon and help please its most important Android carrier has raised concerns that Schmidt may ultimately side with business over values when pressed to make a policy decision.

Consumer Watchdog, a public advocacy group, has also likened Schmidt taking the position to a fox running a henhouse, noting that he has often pushed the limits of legal or publicly acceptable privacy. The group has at times been criticized, however, for being obsessed with attacking Google while ignoring Bing, Yahoo, or other search firms.


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: commerce; democrats; economy; google; google4obama; liberals4androids; obama
Ah jeez...
1 posted on 03/18/2011 1:07:56 PM PDT by Lucky9teen
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To: Lucky9teen
Obama rumored tapping Google's Schmidt ...

I couldn't read any further than that. The image it brought forth was simply too nauseating for words...

2 posted on 03/18/2011 1:11:28 PM PDT by WayneS (Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm. -- James Madison)
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To: Lucky9teen

He wants an “Internet Control Czar”...
are you surprised?


3 posted on 03/18/2011 1:23:05 PM PDT by G Larry
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To: WayneS

LOL!!


4 posted on 03/18/2011 1:28:43 PM PDT by goseminoles
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To: Lucky9teen

In Google We Trust


5 posted on 03/18/2011 1:37:47 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed .. Monthly Donor Onboard .. Obama: Epic Fail or Bust!!!)
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To: Lucky9teen

Never buy a Google product.


6 posted on 03/18/2011 2:11:16 PM PDT by NoLibZone (Impeach Obama & try him for treason / Homosexuals reject diversity / Unions finally caught for theft)
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To: Lucky9teen

won’t head of the secret police or at least nsa be more appropriate for a google guy?


7 posted on 03/18/2011 2:17:59 PM PDT by rigelkentaurus
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To: Lucky9teen


To the Honorable Barack H. Obama, President:

WE, THE GOD-FEARING CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES wish to express our extreme displeasure with your choice of Commerce Secretary. Please remove him immediately! The fact that you have sent him here just goes to prove that you are the leading a$$hole in the nation!
8 posted on 03/18/2011 2:34:43 PM PDT by Emperor Palpatine (Tosca, mi fai dimenticare Iddio!!!)
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To: Lucky9teen

What could possibly go wrong


9 posted on 03/18/2011 2:45:59 PM PDT by famousdayandyear (On the 18th of April 75 hardly a man is now alive who remembers)
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