The United States has never had a technology czar before, but neither have we had a President quite so technology-oriented as Barack Obama. We will almost certainly have a person in such a position very soon, but it is not going to be Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who has been advising the Obama campaign on matters of technology. Schmidt is also on the Transition Economic Advisory Board that is working with President-elect Obama to smooth the change of power that is to come in January.

Schmidt was very active in his support of the Obama – Biden ticket,  including an appearance at events on behalf of the president elect. From the beginning, Schmidt has said that the endorsement of the Democratic party nominee is a purely personnel choice, and not Google corporate decision. “I’m doing this personally,” he said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. “Google is officially neutral.”

Schmidt announced his decision in an interview with Jim Cramer of CNBC. In response to a question about Obama’s technology czar offer, Schmidt said, “I love working at Google and I’m very happy to stay at Google, so the answer is no.” Some observers have noted that the job is a very big one, running the gamut from governmental computer system security to the insuring that the government’s systems infrastructure is up to the tasks of the 21st century.

With Schmidt out of the picture, speculation will turn to who the Obama team may select next and who may be willing to take the position if the position if offered. There is some thought that Reed Hunt, the previous chairman of the FCC, could be chosen. Another possibility is Vint Cerf, who is often referred to as the father of the Internet, but who now reports to Schmidt at Google. It will be very interesting to see who the Obama campaign actually taps next.

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Entry was posted on Monday, November 10th, 2008 at 12:06 am under Google, Internet, Politics, Science and technology.

Read more entries by Michael W. Jones.
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