BusinessWeek discusses Obama’s plan to appoint a cabinet-level Chief Technology Officer for the United States if elected. The CTO would mainly spend his or her time trying to get broadband internet access into more homes (currently, only about 23 out of every 100 Americans have such access, putting the country as a whole at a lousy 15th place among nations). The CTO would also lead a new, $50-billion-dollar venture capital fund for the advancement of green tech.
The names that BusinessWeek floats as potential candidates for the position include Vint Cerf, the chief internet evangelist for Google; Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft; Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon; and Ed Felten, computer science professor at Princeton. Obama’s current campaign advisor Julius Genachowski is also in the running having worked as an executive for IAC. Lawrence Lessig gets a nod, too, and recognizes the potential importance of such a position; but he has signaled that he’s not interested in filling it.
Who do you think would make the best CTO of the USA? Cast your vote below and suggest alternative appointments in the comments.
David Heinemeier Hansson
Is that a Joke?
Fork you! I’m not interested…
Arrington seems to make all the lists lately…why not this one?
he can be a write-in
I know…I wrote him in
While I agree that dial-up sucks, the U.S. is #31 in life expectancy & #49 in literacy…so we have some other issues we should deal with before we worry about killing off aol and netzero.
Well, Eric Schmidt is the most likely candidate. Why isnt he on this list. My article on Sunday shows the reasons why he is probably the chosen one.
Ditto for Arrington.
Someone who doesn’t have an MBA but an EE or CS degree. MBAs = TEH SUCK as they say on Anandtech.
Or, Steve Jobs
Tim Berners-Lee?
I wrote in Tim Berners-Lee as well before I read comments. Dont think being American or not matters much.
He was just as influential to the birth of the personal computing era as anyone and twice as ethical.
Wait, he’s not American.
Let’s focus on important matters for a few years.
developing clean technologies isn’t important? Continuing technology innovation and leadership isn’t important? Utilizing technology in the role of government isn’t important? Integrating technology and medicine isn’t imporant? Utilizing technology in natl security isn’t important?
how can all those things fall under one person’s responsibilities?
We are. It’s gonna be important in politics, so lets give someone else the obligation of understanding what DOESNT relate to war or economy.
Voting for Bezos. He’s been through 2 tech bubbles.
Bill Gates…makes perfect sense. Ballmer? hell no!
Steve Jobs keeps seeming that he might retire. I’d vote for Steve.
Or what about RMS?
I voted for Lawrence Lessig, I think most issues that a CTO of the US would deal with are not technology problems but more issues around culture and people.
I completely agree.
Our CTO should have a higher-level understanding of technology and the influence of technology on culture. Lessig understands open source and creative commons which would be a disruptive force to our closed government.
I couldn’t believe Ballmer made the list…flopppp!
Google CEO Eric Schmidt would be my bet.
http://online.w...4650049199.html
Asked at a speech this month whether he would consider entering the political arena, the 53-year-old Mr. Schmidt shouted, “H-, no!” But some tech and media executives speculate that he might desire a role in an Obama administration, possibly the chief technology officer post Sen. Obama has said he would create.
“I’m actually very busy running Google,” Mr. Schmidt said in the interview.
I totally agree. I think Eric Schmidt would be the perfect choice. He’s brilliant, an engineer, and he’s able to effectively communicate his ideas with great public speaking – a must for anyone entering public life.
Eric Schmidt by far! An academic, geek and advocate for open source and open platforms.
me.
arent you canadian peter?
No, I am actually German. I just moved to Canada a couple of years ago. But hey, I figure if JWB can be president for eight years I sure will be able to do the CTO thing for a couple
. Besides, since this is a new position and Obama wants to change foreign policies anyways, it shouldn’t be no problem to allow a poor old German to do the job. Let me know where I am supposed to send my resume – or is a SmibsNet profile enough?
You mean GWB, right.
You could have a remote shot if you are black. But again, what on earth could make a ‘poor old German’ believe that he could be considered to work in the White House?
You damned Europeans! You make me sick! What makes you think that you could just come to the US and disrespect us by suggesting that you could do whatever you want? Screw you all? Go back home, you misinformed ignorants!!!
Yes, GWB. You got it wrong – nothing to do with disrespect. Quite the opposite, or do you think I’d apply for a job with someone I don’t respect
?
“I figure if JWB can be president for eight years I sure will be able to do the CTO thing”
This garbage is what I mean: disrespect!!! What makes you think that YOU, a f*****g delirious unknown German idiot is more qualified than the President of The United States???? You European retards believe that you can start flapping your lips insulting us?
The President of The United States may be confused, ineffective and more, but is OUR President: we American citizens can express our disapproval for his performance because we have freedom of speech in our country.
The President is still *one of us* and no damned foreigner would get away with disrespecting one of us.
Stay in Canada, you fool! or better, you Euro-trash nazi, go home!!!
wow!
I still can’t decide if Bruce’s comments are a) the rantings of an imbecile or b) a complete piss-take…
anyone?
On second reading, Bruce has a good point: Europeans that are invading us now because of the strong Euro are really clueless stupid and opinionated, offering their political ‘opinions’ when no one asks for them.
Hey, a fellow Canadian! A shout out from Northern Ontario!
P.S. Can’t vote for Steve Jobs because he’s old and there are a lot of health concerns; he may very well die in office… wait a minute…
Gary McKinnon
With Steve Balmer’s Linebacker like mentality, I’d throw him in the mix. Remember, when politics are involved, you need a 300 lb gorilla to get anything done. Eric Schmidt would be my second.
Your mom.
Couldn’t resist
RON PAUL FOR PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNETS!
How about Al Gore? He invented the internet, and seems to care about the environment. He’s perfect for this job. Plus he tells the truth, no matter how inconvenient it is.
DUDE!!! What the heck are you smoking???
Julius Genachowski was supposedly instrumental in the Obama campaign for its SMS strategy and hiring Chris Hughes (he helped convince the campaign to hire someone FROM tech).
Not only has he known Senator Obama since law school (even playing in the famous basketball game that broke the Senator’s nose), but he’s a very accomplished technologist (having worked as pseudo COO of IAC).
He helped our company through LaunchBox Digital (so he knows the startup experience), but he definitely knows the larger technology issues.
Genachowski is already set up to become Secretary of Commerce.
Senator Ted Stevens
Best. Comment. Ever.
DANG IT! Soda on my monitor. Thanks a lot.
Whoever gets this can ask colleagues at Treasury how to impose term sheets on the tech companies you want and tell them they can’t leave without signing! What gives us the belief that government can allocate this $50 billion better than the private market could? Why does the tech world support Barack “spread the wealth” Obama again?
I will tell you why: the young geeks have absolutely no clue about the future and consequences of what we do today, stupidly believing that a half-black inexperienced, double-talking, terrorist-sympathizer out of nowhere can be the *extraordinary* leader of the US –Stunning, monumental ignorance and stupidity.
Voting rights for this crowd is similar to giving loaded guns to retarded chimps!
Just consider that most of them are surprised to learn [always too late] that sex leads to pregnancy…
Your hatred and ignorance makes everyone feel ridiculous.
I’m ashamed for you, your friends, your political party, but most of all, your poor mother.
Grow up and please try to educate yourself just a little bit. Really, it helps.
Yeah, Alex. We know. You are only 12 and totally ignorant. You have to wise up and easy off on the onanism…
Certainly not Steve Ballmer. It’s evident he doesn’t get it.
John McCain?
Oh please. Ted Stevens by a landslide.
Sarah Palin. Everyone else has been covering up the truth about dinosaurs (they were planted there by Jesus as a fun scavenger hunt game).
Of course, I mean Jesus the gardener, from Tijuana, who used to plant little dog turds in my mom’s garden as a fun scavenger hunt game for the kids…
Peter Schiff
That would be CFO.
I voted for Jeff Bezos – he has real vision, is technically deep, and isn’t too much in bed with any one technology platform. Ballmer would be far too divisive and I doubt he has any vision whatsoever. I would suggest Bill Gates but he would be too pro-MS. Lawrence Lessig is an interesting choice on the premise that the technology challenges are much simpler than the social ones.
CIPO – Chief Intellectual Property Officer
Ashton Kutcher
How about letting the free market work and not have the government pick and choose technologies for us? Or do people think innovation requires the use of force?
Government is often the problem, not the solution. Does anyone seriously believe we would not have had digital television a long time ago if the government did not have a stranglehold over the radio spectrum?
The government should be focused on maintaining an orderly marketplace, not on deciding what the participants should be doing.
If the government had allowed true ownership and trading of the spectrum, utilization would be much more innovative. And people would have created more spectrum by upping the accuracies of clocks. Its not a finite resource and can be expanded, but that’s not how the government thinks.
no, no CTO for the US, thank you very much.
Agree. However. It is more than likely that a CTO would be appointed, and not one recommended by the IT community, but one pushed by Obama’s inner circle. Someone with no technical knowledge, but strong political connections, preferably black. Mark my words.
And, my friends and colleagues, it would be the beginning of the end: heavy Internet taxation, heavy, intrusive regulation of everything, from high speed communications to personal wireless conversations, etc. –Hey! life in the US would be very similar to life in a socialist country… Just what the liberal/socialists are fighting for.
You mention a possible black CTO in the Obama administration. In a way, this reminds me of when Bill Clinton moved to the White House and Hillary fired most everyone. If the Obamas move into the White House, you can be sure that every white employee would be asked to leave…
Then, the ‘big house’ would look like the ones in the Caribbean Islands… no white faces around…
No racism, just the facts.
I’m not worried about Obama hiring black people. I think he’ll hire the people that agree with his positions and who are most competant to carry them out.
I think Obama cares more about being successful than he does about handing out stuff to people who look like him.
Its far more important to me what dumb policies are going to be implemented than who does the paperwork.
Oh yes, we need less regulation. The government is the root of all evil.
Really? The libertarian movement died along with the banking and mortgage industries.
Get over the free market. It’s a great theory, and I know how much everyone loves econ 2a, but lets step out of the classroom and into reality.
To Alan Brown: “ignorance is bliss” –I would also add “naivete”
To Alex. Yes, and your “reality” is communism, which by the way, is mostly dead…
Oh, wait! Except Cuba, where people are *really* free, happy and well-off,
What? They are not? And that is because of the American ‘embargo’?
Man, you are really from another planet!!!
The current financial crisis was created by government intervention in the housing market and government inflation of the currency.
The use of force distorts investment and cheats people who were dumb enough to hold dollars.
And of course, proponents of these bankrupt policies tell us the solution is…
…more government!
come on, man. i want my 5 million “green” jobs. government knows much better than the free market what kind of jobs to create.
Bill Gates
Not a bad idea.
Actually, I like this idea. He has the time and is in philanthropy mode now (looking to mix tech and politics). Of course, this might eat into his charity worktime to the exclusion of all else
Oh the irony of an ASP.NET server error on a poll where people are voting for Ballmer as CTO of the US.
Jeff Bezos ,Bill Gates is great!
chuck norris
lol
awesome…. but wouldn’t he be CAKO? Chief Ass Kicking Officer?
Seriously, why would we need a CTO as a nation?
The US Government deploys far more technology than every Fortune 500 company, and each of those has a CTO or equivalent. So it’s a proven model.
Doesn’t it make sense to have a technology strategy and a person in charge of defining and executing that strategy?
then it can have leadership for deploying its own technology. but deciding how to implement technology for an entire country is not a proven model. in fact, its failed
I vote either Jason Calacanis or Al Gore.
T. Boone Pickens.
I’m not sure a washed up 80 year old oilman is qualified for such a position.
True. But if the position is created, I assure you that it will be filled by one of Obama’s cronies… with no clue at all.
Mark!!! You are the MAN!! Awesome GENIUS!!!
Your choice of graphic for your post just blew me away!!! AN EMPTY SUIT!!! Just like Barack Hussein!!! [Sorry, but I am getting a tad emotional here...]
Your post is obviously about a cabinet choice for the Obama administration [but it will never happen!...] but your subconscious played a naughty trick on you: Obama is the EMPTY SUIT!!! YES!!! –No experience to account for, no accomplishments, no original thinking [ever], no legitimate plans for the future, just empty, empty promises that he KNOWS would never materialize: pandering, pandering, pandering –he truly believes that constantly lying would take him to the White House. Just a despicable double-talking lawyer-politician in an EMPTY SUIT!!!
Man! This is great post!!! Thank you, thank you!!!
@Jeff: You are a wicked son of a gun. However, your post is the product of smart thinking. And your premise and points are on target. It is like a slap on the face from reality…
Tim Berners-Lee
Does this make up for choosing Joe Biden as a running mate? Probably not.
(For those who don’t know, Joe Biden is in Hollywood’s back pocket and make very unhealthy decisions re: internet culture).
Obama picked Joe Biden as his running mate for two main reasons: he did not want Hillary breathing down his neck (which I doubt is a pleasant experience. We should probably ask Bill…) –The other reason was that he came to believe that Biden’s ‘vast experience’ would reflect and benefit on him (since he has 0 experience. He needed Joe).
Big mistake: Joe is slowly becoming senile, screwing up every time he opens his mouth. He is a nasty liability for the ticket…
You probably have noticed that Joe is NOT talking that much now. Neither is Michelle Obama: Both have been strongly advised to keep their lips together…
Let’s see: If Obama is elected and, for whatever reason, he is not able to assume the Presidency in January, Joe Biden would become the Prez –At this point, he would be greatly pressured to appoint Nancy Pelosi as Vice President [you know, we need a woman up there].
Then, we would have a semi-senile Prez with a truly retarded Vice Prez… Thanks, but no thanks. I am voting for Palin-McCain. No doubt about it.
Guys, think about this.
So you would rather vote to CERTAINLY have a senile old man for president and a retarded woman as vice president to avoid MAYBE (and a very slim maybe) of having a senile man and a dumb woman?
by this logic you shouldnt be allowed to vote for being a moron.
With your post you have showed your monumental stupidity…
You call Sarah Palin a ‘dumb woman’??? Obviously, this is the opinion of an adolescent little mind devastated by excessive onanism [go on, look it up: it means too much genital self-stimulation]
Get some lotion and go to your messy room!
Lol @ Alex’s comments!
Holly Green, your first comment should be grounds for cancellation of your voting rights, forever! Your second comment is just plain stupid but at least it validates Alex’s point.
Keep in mind that of the “big four” (Presidential and VP candidates for the major parties), only one has *Executive* experience. One. And she’s the one that gets bashed for inexperience.
The position of president is an Executive position. It’s not a sales position. Very few sales guys are successful CEO’s. It even took Steve Jobs a few tries.
I wanted to buy the product, I really did… He’s such a smooth talking sales person. But I don’t think I can. You don’t promote your top sales guy to CEO until you see whether he can lead.
@Bob – Your post brings tears to my eyes! FINALLY, a sensible response instead of the knee-jerk nonsense attacks from the blind/deaf/retarded adolescents who are Obama’s cheerleaders!
Barack Obama is the most dangerous nightmare ever for American citizens –It is monumentally unconscionable for the members of the Democratic party to push forward this man, just because he is black [it is a deep sense of guilt on their part] with no experience or qualifications to be the President of The United States.
Ditto to Bob and Holly Green –
This may not be a surprise, but in England most everyone is supporting Obama for president, which I honestly do not get – It is not only absurd, but absolutely irrelevant. I am now an American citizen living in California and I am NOT voting for Obama simply because he is really a sleazy double-talking lawyer with no valid experience, truly, on anything. He is not even qualified to manage the local kennel – I would not trust him with my dog (a black lab, mind you)
Bruce Schneier
I say Steve Jobs.
But really, A CTO. What does that job entail
Easy, the Woz…
or Jerry Yang
Jeff Bezos, Dean Kamen, or Steve Jobs.
My votes goes to Paul Graham for his simplistic approach and bi-partisan(I am not talking about political parties…in general he’s bi-partisan IMHO) nature.
Another person would be Mr. Khosla, with that $50 billion aimed towards green tech….he would be perfect!
Mr. Khosla would be a likely choice. He has vast experience and connections in the IT field, he grew up outside the US and he is not white. Which would fit perfectly in the new White House.
I interviewed Larry Lessig on this six weeks ago. You should watch what he says on this topic: http://www.fast...eo/the-tech-cto
I added Marc Andreessen to the list.
Please don’t discredit this poll by voting for Arrington!
Oh.. Now I know why Bill Gates stepped down from Microsoft.
Yeap. You got it. One of the richest men in the world aspires to be a [white] CTO in the White House –Which, of course, will be the ‘Black House’ as of January…
why do people keep saying this? his campaign team is almost all white. the racism is unbelievable; even more believe are the denials of racism..
@Sean – Obama’s closest advisors are not white. Also, He is STILL a running candidate. If, IF he becomes President, the White House will be no more…
It will be a time for “reparations” in the form of incompetent black appointees to manage the government, and of course, this will affect us all [Americans]
What you and many other liberals call “racism” is just the brutal reality. Please wake up, open your eyes!!!
And another thing: television is FICTION, NOTHING of what Obama keeps promising will become reality. Politician’s job is to lie, lie, lie and lie and Obama is the most skillful liar of all…
No one. There should not be a CTO, and the government should not be involved in these issues.
Should be someone with a broad understanding of technology, such as a top R&D manager from a company like GE or 3M.
While most point-and-clickers may associate technology with the internet, this is a bit parochial in outlook.
Yes. But if there is going to be a CTO, his appointment would be a pure political decision, not based on technical knowledge or experience.
Please, just remember that politicians’ promises never become a reality, Anywhere.
I know the following piece of info is not directly relevant to the topic, but still it is good to see that the Obama campaign has got a tax-cut calculator on their website: http://taxcut.barackobama.com/
http://taxincre....barakobama.com
For all those entrepreneurs who actually achieve their goals.
C’mon!!! Do you REALLY believe what Obama offers on his site? Sober up, man.