It’s probably too late now, but this administration that’s so fond of appointing “czars” for various jobs should have appointed an oil-spill czar, told them (and everyone else) that they had the full authority of the executive branch behind them, sent them down to Louisiana and told them not to come back until the hole had been plugged. They would have wanted someone who met several criteria:
- Available immediately—no point in naming someone whose appointment would only delay matters
- Experienced executive, particularly in dealing with large, complex projects
- Experienced politician—given the political fallout, the political complications, and the need to keep the public informed, the job would need someone used to working on the national political scene
- Experience in working politically with Big Oil, but independent from them—not someone on the payroll of any of the oil companies, but someone familiar with energy issues who has a track record of keeping them honest and cooperative
- Some familiarity with the Gulf states, and/or relationships with their governors—wouldn’t need to be someone from that area, but someone who could reasonably expect to work comfortably and effectively with state and local governments in a manner that showed respect and appreciation for the cultures of the region
- Ideally, a Republican—it isn’t likely that the GOP would have objected to the establishment of such a position, but if so, naming a Republican would have drawn their fangs, and given the President a bit of a bipartisan boost; also, of the governors of the Gulf states, there are four Republicans, three high-profile (Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal, Haley Barbour, Bob Riley), and one who used to be (Charlie Crist), so naming a Republican would help in that regard
Now, it could be that I’m biased, but looking over this list, it seems to me that there’s one person above all others who would fit the bill: as Jason Killian Meath pointed out a couple weeks ago over at BigGovernment, it’s Gov. Sarah Palin.
- Currently out of office, she could have taken the job immediately
- As Governor of Alaska, she served as chair of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission and chair of the National Governors Association (NGA) Natural Resources Committee; before that, she had served as head of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
- In her time as governor, she pushed for and oversaw the launching of a non-producer-controlled pipeline project to bring Alaskan natural gas to the Lower 48 (standing up to opposition from BP, among others)
- She pushed through tax reform, replacing the tax code that had been written by Big Oil lobbyists to the maximum benefit of the companies with one designed to benefit the state of Alaska
- She pushed ExxonMobil to develop the Point Thomson oil field, instead of sitting on the lease and doing nothing as they had for a quarter-century
- Her government created the Petroleum Systems Integrity Office (PSIO), designed to prevent just such disasters as we have now in the Gulf of Mexico
- As such, she has shown the knack of being pro-production without being in Big Oil’s pocket
- She’s been a significant player on the national political scene for nearly two years now, enough time to begin to get comfortable, and has shown significant gifts for speaking and other forms of mass communication (government accountability via Facebook would be a significant improvement)
- Though not a Southerner, she has campaigned for Gov. Perry, in his primary this year, and with Gov. Crist, during the 2008 campaign, and appears to have a solid relationship with Gov. Jindal, meaning that the necessary working relationships appear to be already in place
- As President Obama’s highest-profile critic on energy issues and a former campaign opponent, appointing her to such a position would be seen as indicative of his ability to put the past aside for the common good and to deal constructively with disagreement and differing opinions; it would also have put her in a position in which backing up her previous arguments and assertions against the President would have been to the benefit of the White House—a productive bit of political judo
The only downside here is that if Gov. Palin had performed well in that role, it would have boosted her political standing tremendously (though if she hadn’t, it would have hurt her but still helped the President). But if it was for the good of the country, and also the administration, wouldn’t that have been a price worth paying?