Wednesday October 15
The Most Criticized Man In Washington
In an article titled "Soldier's Ethic" Guides Powell At the FCC [TechNews.com], the Washington Post calls Michael Powell -- Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission -- "the most criticized man in Washington ... faulted by Republicans, Democrats, conservatives and liberals, feminists, gun owners, big media companies, columnists and lawyers." It is ironic that someone who professes to be so tuned in to market and technological trends can turn out to have a completely deaf ear to politics. Especially when his father, the old general and current Secretary of State, is fairly good at that as well.
Powell is pretty sharp, as when he said today in a speech to a Las Vegas trade group -- from whom he was lambasted earlier this year for accepting $85,000 in free travel perks -- that the FCC is at a major crossroads. The Telecom Act of 1996 "will break, if it isn't crumbling already, and it will need to be replaced," Powell observed. Since I wrote the same thing here, and have been making that prediction for seven years, I've just got to agree with this most perceptive public servant. :-)
What that means, of course, is that when Powell blows it and reaches a decision that makes no sense, he is fully aware that he is twisting the rules to achieve the result he wants politically. That's bad. It's doubly bad that he is oblivious to the fact that the results he is producing are politically unpalatable to most of those he is charged with pleasing! Gotta know your audience, Michael.
Posted by glenn at