Bill Gates Open To Obama Administration Role

Washington Post:

Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who is in Washington this week to press his foundation's education and global health agenda, said he is keeping an open mind about taking a role aiding the incoming Obama administration.

Asked in an interview yesterday with The Washington Post whether he would consider serving in the new administration, Gates left the door open.

"Certainly my full-time job is being chairman of the foundation," Gates said. "If there was some committee or pretty focused task where I could contribute, I'd be glad to consider that, and I hope that the things we've learned about education -- including the mistakes we've made -- I hope we do get a strong dialogue and I'm very optimistic we'll have that with these people."

Read the whole story: Washington Post

Comments

[BartLA]

TRANSITION TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: President-elect Obama will be able to keep a Blackberry. Bill Gates has been selected for the post to carry it around for him.

[sixx]

Sarah Palin, doesn't Gates already work for Obama?

[omac112211]

Bill .. I still get the "Blue Screen of death", any chance you can sort that out first?

[RoveRoveRoveYourBoat]

...one gates at a time!

[AbbieXHoffman]

PERFECT. Our new technocrat president elect needs an IT guy. Gates for Secretary of IT. First job--automated the frinckin" election process!

[crazylikeafox]

Foreigners will be coming in taking any good jobs left in America if Gates has any say in the matter.

Gates is always begging congress to let him bring in thousands to take jobs here.

Oh, and makes it impossible for Americans to get those jobs.

[whsmith]

Americans don't want to clean toilets because it is beneath us - bring in the Mexicans. Americans don't want to write software because it is too nerdy, bring in the Asians. Sorry, it isn't Bill Gates fault that America is too dumb, with a deep culture of anti-intel­lectualism that isn't breeding enough good engineers. That is a cultural problem.

[layman]

It's a imported cheap labor problem ! Another form of slavery !
Cheap labor maximizes share holders' profits It's corporate greed that's gotten America in it's sorry state today !

[TiaL27]

That is a myth. Cleaning toilets are not beneath us, slave wages are beneath us.

Americans don't want to write software because it is too nerdy? Tell that to the thousands of IT professionals who lose their jobs every year to foreigners getting paid a few cents to do the same job.

American workers are not the problem. Greedy CEOs are the problem.

[BarackstarObama]

Cool, the more multi-billionaires helping Obama the better... Buffett, Gates, Schmidt, Pritzker etc. LOL

[SirHenryClinton]

I'd advise President Obama to talk to Linus Torvalds if he wants to learn about our computer infrastructure. Regarding Linux, I've used the Linux OS for over a decade now and have some knowledge these issues. One, America's computer infrastructure is in danger due to the numerous security problems with M$ products. Two, our nation could save Billions of dollars annually by switching to open source software. Three, open source software like Linux and Open Office are superior to their commercial counterparts. Four, M$ dominance of the computer marketplace wasn't due to innovation but business practices that restricted computer manufacturers from offering competing products.

One question though, why would a Harvard Grad talk to a college dropout about education anyway? Might it have something to do with ensuring all our schools brainwash the windows. Too bad the students will have no source code to help them learn programing.

[whsmith]

i would recommend OpenBSD for government networks, certainly not more Microsoft software. However, I still have respect for Bill Gates and he could be useful as long as he isn't acting as an evangelist for his own software.

[FreedomAgain]

Bill, why are you moving Microsoft overseas? Isn't that anti-american?

[clsmithj]

that will never happen.

[mocha59]

Because right before O got elected, he said he would if Obama won. He is NOT an O supporter. He is ALL about the money. I love my Windows, but does he care about us? Not.

[whsmith]

He donated the maximum amount to Obama and Hillary Clinton early in the election - Bill Gates is a democrat and a humanitarian, even if his company is greedy at times with anti competitive practices - most mega corporations like MS get that way when they get huge, unfortunately. Bill hasn't been central to the business strategy of MS for a long time. And he's not "moving Microsoft overseas".­... MS is a multinational corporation based in Redmond WA, and always will be. And I hate Windows BTW, but Bill isn't a bad guy at all.

[BlackYowe]

Bill why don't you bail out GM?

[strangerinthenight]

Only a fool will enter into a losing proposition.

[berrycooda]

Yeah right....g­ive Bill Gates a job in the administration.

Maybe he can get more than 40,000 workers to come in from other countries to take
Tech jobs in the U.S.

He was complaining a few weeks ago that 40,000 people weren't enough because he didn't get
as many Tech workers as he wanted out of that group.

Importing workers is just the same as outsourcing jobs.

Both reasons are to get workers to work for less pay.

[strangerinthenight]

Bill Gates is right. There are more generation of "bolt" workers at the Big3 than going to engineering schools. Why not, bolt workers on an assembly line makes better wages, and they do not have to go to college for at least 4 years, don't have to pay student loan, get internship etc. In the end, they make less than a bolt changer in an assembly line.

We need more NASA scientists, biologist, chemist. We have a lot of unskilled worker.

[CubsFanInNY]

All kidding aside, we live in a time when technology has risen to be strategic for the United States. Continuing along the lines of a tech czar, but going farther, I propose a new cabinet-level position, Secretary of Technology.

To address technology infrastructure requirements, and to support every aspect of our lives which are increasingly technology-based, we need the proper focus and investment in technology. This includes information technology and other areas.

To create this new department, we can leverage some of the Department of Commerce organizations and create new organizations as necessary to carry out the mission of the United States.

To lead the US forward with its new leadership, we need the appropriate level of new talent and organization, systems and processes - both guiding and leveraging the technology that is so critical to our future.

Once we have defined this new organization, we can then determine the best man or woman for the job.

[strangerinthenight]

Finally ! Bush H was anti education, and Bush W, was the child that was left behing, albeit Yale and Harvard diplomas.

We need hundred and thousands of engineers.

[calichic]

Bill Gates the monopolist who has bought his freedom from anti-trust laws? F**k no!

[Meforpresident3]

Bill Gates may be a good person, but they give him a job but not Stephen Colbert! Stephen Colbert nominated himself for a position on President Obama's cabinet. I think that is the best way to get nominated, by a super funny, comedian. So I think that if they are giving Bill Gates a job they really don't have much of a choice but to make Colbert lets say the secratary of funny, so that he can stay in New York and continue doing his show cuz if he stopped, my world would be over. I'd have nothing to live for. I wan't to be just like Colbert. I think I'm gonna run for president in 2009 becuz I'm a maverick like Palin.

[Natalie4Obama]

Jon Stewart is the Secretary of Funny ;o)

[golferman]

I gotto go with Bill Mahr...

[roshni]

I think Bill Gates and Bill Clinton should join forces and alleviate some of the health issues in Africa and other countries in need of vaccines and HIV education/drugs. They both have an expertise in this and it would be very effective.
Bill GAtes has considerable talent that should be tapped if he makes himself available.

[strangerinthenight]

They are already joining forces, including Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.