Obama’s Secretary of Energy: Who Will Get the Call?
The dust has barely settled from Tuesday’s election and the rumor mill is already up and running for potential White House staff. President-elect Obama faces a tough four years (if not eight), and will need all the help he can get. Undoubtedly, the job of Secretary of Energy is going to be a tricky one. So the question is, who is going to be up for the job?
Being a member of the President’s White House staff is no easy task. President Andrew Jackson actually had two cabinets to hold the union together. One was the formal cabinet which met in the White House and the other was known as his “Kitchen Cabinet” which met after hours across the street.
The Secretary of Energy will not be an easy role to assume. The price of gas may have fallen recently, but that does not make us immune to future shortages and overseas skirmishes over resources. President-elect Obama has been a symbol of American progress. I sincerely hope his choice for the head of the DOE will share his vision and make sure we are on the right path to energy independence.
- » See also: Physicians Group Comes Out Strongly Against Coal Power
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It appears that current Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodmen will not be resuming his post as the head of the Department of Energy. He was confirmed unanimously by the US Senate in 2005 with intimidating credentials (a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Cornell Universtiy and a doctorate from MIT in chemical engineering as well), but it appears that Obama harbors no nostalgia for any member of the Bush Administration. Secretary Bodmen leaves his successor with a 23 billion dollar budget excess and over 100,000 government contracts to service.
Here are the front-runners for the post, according to the Huffington Post:
Dan Reicher: The man apparently at the top of the list, Reicher is the Google.org director of Climate and Energy Initiatives and he also served as the Assistant Secretary of Energy in 2000. The Huff Post cites his experience as a successful eco-mined venture capitalist as the reason he is the most talked about for the job. Personally, I think anyone associated with Google is probably a good fit for this country (especially the charitable arm of the company). The company’s desire for positive change and environmental accountability is one to be envied.
Jason Grumet: Grumet is currently Obama’s energy advisor and is reportedly another top candidate for the job. He currently is the executive director of the National Comission on Energy Policy and vaguely resembles Jeff Goldblum circa Jurassic Park (which doesn’t make him any more qualified, just more amusing). Grumet is a Harvard and Brown University grad who also worked as the Executive Dirctor of the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management and already resides in the DC area. His selection looks to be a safe choice considering he has already worked to shape Obama’s energy plan and won’t have to move if selected.
Steve Westley: Current California State Controller and Obama supporter Westley has also had his name tossed into the hat. He worked for President Carter in the Department of Energy’s Office of Solar and Conservation. He was the California co-chair for Obama for America and was also one of the founding executives of eBay. Westley is currently on the board of Tesla Motors and is a managing partner of the Westley Group, a clean technology company. These credentials make him a viable candidate for the position.
Ed Rendell: One of the two governors who have expressed interest in the post. Rendell is a popular Pennsylvania Governor who is facing a precarious situation since his term is over in 2011 and will not be able to run again. Rendell fought hard for Obama after initially supporting Sen. Clinton in the Democratic primaries. He seems like a bit of a long shot, but has expressed interest in taking a post in the Obama administration after his current term of governor is over.
Arnold Schwarzenegger: That’s right. The governator. None other than carbon dioxide combatant of California himself. While I don’t agree with him on all issues, I have to hand it to the guy. He has made energy efficiency a statewide priority and is, in many cases, setting an example that the rest of the United States should be doing their best to follow. President-elect Obama has made it very clear that he will have a bipartisan cabinet, and I can’t think of another Republican I’d rather have as the Secretary of Energy.
So what are your thoughts? This pick will be an important one for the new President who needs to prove to the rest of America that he has good judgment. I trust he will pick the right person.
On a personal note; yes we can, and yes we did.
Other links on Energy Policy Related to the US Election:
- Building Bridges: Hope is Renewable
- With Podesta Running Obama’s Transition, Energy Clearly Tops
- Corn Ethanol is Not Optimal-Says Senator Obama
- Beyond Obama: A Biofuel Stimulus for President
- 50% Don’t Think Obama or McCain Can Lower Gas Prices
Image Credit: ~MVI~ Flickr photostream under a Creative Commons License.
Source: Huffington Post
You may be interested to hear Australian-born Andrew Liveris, current CEO of Dow Chemical, is being talked about as a contender to be appointed Obama’s Energy Secretary. While he may be an unlikely choice, he’s been out preaching about the need for a truly comprehensive energy policy in the U.S. for a long while now, most recently at the coveted podium of the Detroit Economic Club. Every time he speaks, he’s told he should be running for public office. Given his company is hugely connected to the energy sector and he is vastly knowledgeable of all things energy on a global basis — from renewables to climate change to sustainable technologies — this non-traditional choice makes a lot of sense.
Jason Grumet is real sharp. I saw him speak at an event at the DNC this summer in Denver. Q&A with this guy was like having a conversation with the encyclopedia of energy. But Grumet doesn’t have the name recognition, reputation, and political clout as some of the other candidates. The political power and leadership potential of potential cabinet members is often valued highly; but that may not matter to Obama.
That said, if Obama does decide he wants to make good on the ‘post-partisan’ message he delivered throughout the campaign by bringing in some Republicans to his cabinet, putting Schwarzenegger at the DOE may just be the easiest/smartest way of accomplishing that goal.
Please bring in someone who is conversant with all technologies - coal, nuclear, wind, solar, distributed, geo, tidal, biomass, etc - and is competent to do all the necessary (rough) calculations himself. We don’t need a hands-in-the-pocket type who is enamored with green technology but doesn’t understand its limitations; a political hack deferring to corn, oil, or coal interests; someone who doesn’t understand energy economics; or someone in the pocket of any special interest or industry. For the future of humanity and our country, this will be the most important appointment Obama makes.
It probably does not matter anyway because the same old fat cats and lobbyists will crush any real attempt at change. Until there are some regulations on the special interests nothing meaningful will happen.
Take the time to read through this speech…http://news.dow.com/speeches/9-22-08_DEC_Final.pdf
All these candidates seem viable. Unfortunately, to this point we have absolutely no national consensus, save for a common NIMBY or BANANA ( Build absolutely nothing at any time anywhere {quote from new Dem. Congressman Hime who replaces Chris Shays}) syndrome.
Pres. Obama and the new Energy Secretary will need to work with the Congressional leadership, unlike the current situation of near-chaos.
Amazing, no one with even a lick of experience in the energy industry, and these are considered good picks?
Style before substance after all.
We have one great pick that is never mentioned that has experience !
Mayor White , yes he has experience White graduated from Churchill High School before attending Harvard University on American Legion scholarships and graduating magna cum laude with a degree in economics. He then attended The University of Texas School of Law, where he was elected editor-in-chief of its law review and graduated with highest honors.
He served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy under President Clinton from 1993 to 1995. He organized Frontera Resources, a developer of oil and gas in the Caspian Sea region, and was also the chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, from 1995 to 1998. He was the president and CEO of WEDGE Group, an energy, construction and real estate company, from 1997 to 2004. From Wikipedia.
Best Mayor Houston has ever had , the energy capital , lets keep it of the World !
Message to Barack Obama:
For your nomination for Secretary of Energy, I would like to strongly recommend the three-time Pulitzer Prize winning writer and New York Times journalist THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN. Friedman has a far-reaching understanding of the development and future of Energy technology and is, simply put, a true visionary of the merging of the Electricity Grid with Information Technology, the requirements and benefits of energy efficiency, and alternative sources of fuels.
Please read his latest book “HOT, FLAT, and CROWDED.”
Recommendation to Barack Obama:
Please consider Joseph Romm as the new Secretary of Energy, or for a position in the EPA. He has a Ph.D. from MIT, and is an expert on the problem of climate change. He was acting assistant secretary at the Dept. of Energy under Clinton. He understands the urgency of acting now, and advocates use of existing technologies to improve energy efficiency, implement cogeneration of heat and power in onsite plants, and further develop renewable sources in order to reduce CO2 emissions in the next few decades, while supporting research and development of new technologies which will become useful in the last half of this century.
His book, Hell and High Water is another must-read!