Comments on: Steven Chu: Obama Pick For Energy Secretary

By: Robert

Robert — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 20:31:10 +0000

A Nobel Laureate as a cabinet member?!

Kull wahad. This reminds me of GB Shaw’s cranky
remark in the preface to “Heartbreak House” to the
effect that the only way someone burdened with a
serious cultural equipment could get into Parliament
was by the accident of being born a hereditary peer.

And an actual veteran has been named Secretary of
Veterans Affairs.

By: Obama’s Energy Secretary is a Nobel Prize-winning physicist who believes in global warming | England for Obama

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:04:52 +0000

[...] Oliver Willis via Bob [...]

By: Warren Terra

Warren Terra — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 02:58:16 +0000

As an embryonic, or perhaps larval, academic, I've been a bit curious about the question of advanced degrees in the cabinet. Without bestirring myself to actually look, the only Bush appointee I know has a postgraduate research degree was Condoleezza Rice. I say "postgraduate research degree" so as to exclude postgraduate professional degrees such as MBA, JD, or MD, and obviously not to denigrate those degree. Now, there's a reasonable argument to be made that the skill set to get a PhD and a professorship is different from running an agency with thousands or tens of thousands of professionals, and negotiating with Congress, but it would be nice to see more people from an academic background. Just to throw out one obvious example, Shirley Tilghman. Member of the National Academy, President of Princeton for most of a decade, on the board of Google - she'd make a great HHS secretary or maybe an NIH director.

By: Ian Aleksander Adams

Ian Aleksander Adams — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 02:02:13 +0000

Holy crap – I know that you have to be a tiny bit of a politician to get high up in academia, but still – HE’S FROM ACADEMIA!

By: Parthenon

Parthenon — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:48:03 +0000

Smart guys in charge! huzzah!

By: ed

ed — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:36:33 +0000

Yeah, but will he swear allegiance to Dear Leader, endorse Creationism, and not mention Global Warming?

By: Jaim

Jaim — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:19:54 +0000

Wow, an actual scientist with real credentials being appointed to the appropriate job.

This hasn’t happened for eight years.

By: Quaker in a Basement

Quaker in a Basement — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:06:58 +0000

Fantastic!