Quote:
Originally Posted by tubemonkey
Tom Wheeler, the chairman of the FCC, bears watching. Why Obama chose him is beyond me. Remember, this guy is a former lobbyist for the cable and wireless industry. Putting him in charge of the agency that regulates this industry is kinda like putting the fox in charge of the hen house.
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Lobbyists don't always have a particular tie to whom they are lobbying for. In fact part of their value often tends to be that they are NOT emotionally tied to the interest they lobby for, so they can make a more dispassionate, compelling case when dealing. I don't know if that's true in this case or not, but it would not surprise me.
As BWinMill says, the APPEARANCE of bias will be unavoidable whether there is a conflict of interest or not, but I think I'd rather have someone knowledgeable in the job rather than someone clueless just for appearances sake. That would be the Peter Principle at work in government.