Copps, Adelstein Seek FCC Temp Job

If Barack Obama is elected president this fall, come January, he will likely name one of the two sitting Democratic FCC commissioners to replace temporarily the outgoing Republican Kevin Martin as chairman of the agency. But which one? Michael Copps or the like-minded Jonathan Adelstein. According to insiders, each is waging a low-key campaign to capture the post, which brings with it the power to control the staff and set the agenda of the agency. "Both are political animals and they both would like to be chairman," says an FCC insider. The interim or acting chairmanship may last only a few months -- just long enough for Obama to nominate a permanent chairman and for the Senate to confirm him or her. But it could last considerably longer.