The Short List for US Chief Technology Officer

Sen Barack Obama (D-IL) says that the US is not doing nearly enough to create jobs through technology. Shortly after he launched his campaign, the Illinois Senator promised that if elected, he would create the first-ever Cabinet-level post of chief technology officer. The economic crisis has since made it certain that a White House CTO would become one of Obama's most important advisers, should he triumph in November. "Obama sees greater broadband penetration as an enormous economic engine, much like the railroads were a century ago," says Andrew D. Lipman, a veteran communications lawyer in Washington. "That is why the CTO will play such a critical role in any recovery plan." The tech czar would almost certainly be deeply involved in overseeing a federally-backed $50 billion venture capital fund that Obama has proposed to develop more environmentally friendly technology. What is less clear is how a CTO would interact with the Federal Communications Commission. While the FCC chairman does not belong to the Cabinet, the person filling that role has traditionally been a leading voice on issues of media, telecommunications, and technology. It is widely expected that President Bush's appointed FCC chair, Kevin Martin, would step down if Obama were elected. Sources say Obama might then consider appointing his former Harvard Law School classmate and current campaign adviser, Julius Genachowski, to the chairman's post.