Obama or AT&T -- The Choice for Commissioner-Designate Clyburn as the Whitacre Era Ends

[Commentary] South Carolina Public Service Commission member Mignon Clyburn, President Obama's nominee for the Federal Communications Commission, has, over the past ten years, gone along with the normal pro-Bell tilt to the Commission. As one telecom attorney with experience in southern state put it, if a competitive carrier went to the South Carolina commission to argue that the sky was blue, and AT&T (the former BellSouth) argued the sky was purple, the PSC would rule in favor of purple. The Bell companies have an unrivalled story of success in the South Carolina regulatory system and legislature, as they do in many southern states. AT&T is a politically potent force, as Mignon Clyburn and her father well know, and there will doubtless be pressure on her to follow the policies that veteran telecom attorneys from the region acknowledge she has long supported. Those philosophies, however, will come into sharp contrast with the expected progressive policies espoused by the President Obama's campaign.