Facebook Offers Obama Cabinet Clue?

First published at WashingtonTimes.com

Team Obama announced this afternoon that Josh Gotbaum, the first CEO of the September 11th Fund, will lead the review team that will be parked at the Department of the Treasury. (See story detailing the review teams here.)

Gotbaum's bio, per the transition team:

Josh Gotbaum currently serves as an advisor to investment funds, with a special focus on restructurings and management turnaround.  He was startup CEO of The September 11th Fund, a charity that serves people, businesses and non-profits.  From 1994-2001, Josh held Senate-confirmed positions in Treasury, Defense, and OMB.  From 1981-94, he was an investment banker, working on mergers and restructuring in North America and Europe. His clients included major corporations, unions, and government. He also has worked in the White House and at the Department of Energy.

But I wanted a bit more info, so I did what any Gen-Xer would -- I checked out his Facebook page.

Gotbaum lists as interests: "Fixing organizations, business, government, politics and singing" and says his favorite music is "rock & roll, musical comedy and cabaret."

Way more interesting: among his 159 Facebook friends is one Larry Summers.

Could be a tea leaf for Treasury Secretary, or could just mean they are pals.

Tom Wheeler, a member of the working group, also is on Facebook.

Per the transition team:

Tom Wheeler is a member of the Obama-Biden Transition Project’s Agency Review Working Group responsible for the science, technology, space and arts agencies.  He has taken a leave of absence from Core Capital Partners, a venture capital firm working with early stage technology companies, where he is a Managing Director.  For three decades, Wheeler has worked at the forefront of technology, both as an entrepreneur and as a policy specialist.  He has been the CEO of the National Cable Television Association and the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, as well as the founder or co-founder of multiple new technology companies.  Wheeler is the author of two books: Mr. Lincoln’s T-Mails and Leadership Lessons from the Civil War.

His Facebook page notes he enjoys history "especially Civil War history and the history of transformational technologies" and likes Broadway musicals.

He's not friends with Summers, but he is a member of a group that brings back memories called "Petition: Superdelegates, let the voters decide!"

The group noted back then: "The superdelegates are under lots of pressure right now to come out for one candidate or the other. We urgently need to encourage them to let the voters decide between Clinton and Obama—and then to support the will of the people."

He also lists as his favorite books the two about Lincoln that he wrote himself.

Jon Ward's roundup of today's president-elect news is here.

— Christina Bellantoni, White House correspondent,
The Washington Times

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Comments

[Takae]

Pardon me for being shallow, but Gotbaum's fern-leaves shirt? It needs to die.

[furryone]

YOU ROCK Christina Bellantoni! Gen X'ers UNITE (behind our GEN X President!)