Departing Google CEO Eric Schmidt To Be Appointed Commerce Secretary

[Zatch]

The word in Washington is that President Obama is close to naming departing CEO Eric Schmidt as the nation's next Secretary of Commerce.

Mr. Schmidt picked up an important vote of confidence earlier this week when former Reagan Administration Commerce Department counsel Clyde Prestowitz essentially endorsed Schmidt for the job. That didn't happen by accident and it's a strong signal that the GOP DC establishment will support a Schmidt appointment. Such support would almost certainly insure a smooth confirmation process.

Mr. Schmidt is available to take this assignment. At the end of January, Google announced that he would shortly be leaving his CEO position. His last day is set for April 4, when cofounder Larry Page will take over.

Schmidt was at Google for 10 years, and reportedly decided to leave after battling Google's cofounders over its decision to pull out of China. The company left China due to in part to free speech battles, and in part because Chinese hackers were attacking Google.

A final decision is expected within the next two weeks. The outgoing Commerce Secretary, former Washington Governor Gary Locke, was nominated by President Obama to serve as the US Ambassador to China.

http://www.businessinsider.com/obama...cretary-2011-3

[doodle]

Not a great move...unless in exchnage, google agrees to give full access to all its user privacy data and facebook users data to Obama people. It will be for national security.

[Sola_Fide]

I don't want big corporate CEO's in government.

Obama thinks this shows him to be "business-friendly", but it really shows him to be a corporatist.

[Kotin]

Obama thinks this shows him to be "business-friendly", but it really shows him to be a corporatist.

My thoughts exactly.

[devil21]

This appointment is typical political "tit for tat". Google is taking up Obama's Global Warming (energy tax) cause suddenly and then the CEO is appointed to his cabinet?

http://solveclimatenews.com/news/201...ence-new-media

Climate change skeptics who have created a political megaphone in Washington may finally meet their match in the world's largest search engine.

Google.org, the technology giant's philanthropic arm, has hand-picked a team of 21 fellows working in climate research to improve the way the science of global warming is communicated to the public and lawmakers through new media.
more at link