Wesley Clark wins straw poll for US Secretary of Energy

[Turborama]

Biofuels Digest readers choose Clark by a wide margin; Chu in a distant second; Reicher, Podesta, Dorgan trail far behind.

Biofuels Digest readers chose former NATO commander Wesley K. Clark as US Secretary of Energy in an online straw poll. In a field of 17 candidates, including the current Secretary, Dr. Steven Chu, Clark picked up 24 percent of the vote. Secretary Chu ran second with 10 percent of the ballots. Retiring New Mexico Senator Jeff Bingaman picked up 8 percent of the votes to finish third.

Amongst those rumored to be in contention for the appointment, former North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan finished fifth in the straw poll, while former Asst. Secretary of Energy Dan Reicher tied for a disappointing seventh place, and former White House chief of staff John Podesta finished 13th.

Vote totals in the straw poll:

Gen. Wesley Clark (co-chair, Growth Energy; former supreme NATO Commander) 24%

Steven Chu (US Secretary of Energy) 10.0%

Jeff Bingaman (retiring Senator, New Mexico) 8%

Jennifer Granholm (former Michigan governor) 7%

Byron Dorgan (former Senator, North Dakota) 6%

Christine Gregoire (retiring Governor, Washington state) 5%

Tom Daschle (former Senate Majority Leader) 4%

Chad Holliday (Chairman, Bank of America; former CEO, DuPont) 4%

Jim Rogers (Duke Energy CEO) 4%

Dan Reicher (former Clinton Asst. Secretary of Energy) 4%

Heather Zichal (Asst. Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy) 4%

Steve Westly (CEO, The Westly Group) 4%

John Podesta (Center for American Progress chair and former Clinton White House chief of staff) 3%

Jim Berhnard (CEO, The Shaw Group) 3%

Bill Richardson (Former Governor, New Mexico; former Secretary of Energy) 2%

John Rowe (Exelon CEO) 2%

Tom Steyer (venture capitalist) <1%

http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2012/11/20/wesley-clark-wins-biofuels-digest-straw-poll-for-us-secretary-of-energy/

Who do you think should get the job? Personally, I reckon it'd be a great comeback for Van Jones...

[elleng]

1. Saw this a few days ago.

As I've been hoping for Wes Clark to get a position in the administration, if not as POTUS, then Sec Def, Sec State, Natiional Security. Sec. Energy fine with me.

[Turborama]

3. I've been thinking SOS or SOD

I'm surprised no-one's mentioning him for either of those positions, or National Security, tbh.

[elleng]

4. Unfortunately, when its comes down to it, Turbor,

it appears PrezO has ignored him. For years. I've never understood it.

[MrSlayer]

2. Hmmm. I never considered Wes for Energy.

Defense, State or NSA for sure but never Energy. He'd probably be great at it.

[msongs]

5. surely there must be some qualified oil company executives who are bipartisan at least on paper nt

[NCarolinawoman]

6. Wes always wanted the military to invest in electrical vehicles.

He was even pushing something that had to do with electrical BICYCLES for the Army. Sounds strange, but he had a reputation for thinking "out of the box".

I remember a lot of this from his 2004 campaign.

By the way, that Duke Energy guy, way down on the list, is big on all kinds of DIRTY energy.

[wtmusic]

7. Um, Wes Clark is on the board of directors of an oil company

and has no scientific creds.

No fucking way.

[PamW]

10. DOE's largest segment is NNSA

The list contains many people with credentials in the fields of energy production and renewables...

However, the DOE's largest component is not in the field of energy production, but is the NNSA - the
National Nuclear Security Administration. The largest component of DOE and the biggest responsibility
of the Secretary of Energy is to oversee the complex that maintains the USA's stockpile of nuclear weapons.

As the San Francisco Chronicle points out; with most segments of Government in contraction, under the
Obama Administration the NNSA is one of the growing segments of the Government complex:

http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/Questioning-Obama-s-nuclear-agenda-3329783.php

While most federal agencies are being placed on an austerity diet, the Obama administration's 2013 budget for nuclear weapons activities is more than last year's appropriation and 20 percent higher than President Reagan's largest nuclear weapons budget at the height of the Cold War, adjusted for inflation. If fully funded, Obama's budget will be the biggest nuclear weapons budget in our nation's history.

There doesn't seem to be any in the list with the exception of Gen Clark that have military experience.

PamW

[Turborama]

11. So what are you trying to say?

I don't get your point.

[PamW]

12. Very simple...

Turborama,

The point is very simple. Many are posting candidates for Secretary of Energy that have credentials or bona fides in the area of electric vehicle technology, or renewable energy generation.... Evidently they are putting forth these candidates because they have experience in an area that is within the purview of the Secretary of Energy. It is true that the Secretary of Energy oversees the development of electric vehicle technology, battery technology, renewable energy technology that goes on in the DOE labs.

However, the single largest area of responsibility of the Secretary of Energy is for maintaining the USA's stockpile of nuclear weapons. Should not the Secretary of Energy have some credentials in that area just as some believe the Secretary needs credentials in the renewables field?

PamW