PEBO's selection of
Steven Chu for the Energy Department chair is a good one. Chu's got a great reputation in the scientific community, and he's run a world class lab at Berkeley. What I'm really hoping for out of him is cold, analytical rigor when it comes to determining where federal money goes as we seek to encourage more alternative and renewable energy sources. It is hard to conceive of a man of hard science being anti-nuclear, but I don't know enough yet about his stance on nuclear power to comment.
He certainly appears to be credentialed enough - I'll be curious to see how he handles himself among the Washington establishment. From my Google search of him, I come away with the impression of a guy more comfortable behind a bunsen burner than a congressional microphone.
ReplyDeleteHe has a reputation of being a great organizer and an excellent leader of personnel - sounds like a good makeup for the head of a bureaucratic organization. But even if he isn't the bureaucratic type, that's why each secretary has 2 or 3 associate and deputy secretaries, each handling a specific area of expertise. Chu's the guy who takes all of his subordinates' recommendations, analyzes them, and relays his opinion to the President and other decision-makers - and I think few people doubt that he can do that effectively.
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