From "Whoa!" to "Who?"
What a difference a few weeks makes. On Thanksgiving, we reported that President-elect Obama’s short-list of candidates for Secretary of transportation included three strong cycling advocates, two of them nationally-known:
• Representative Jim Oberstar — A Minnesota Democrat and nationally-renowned member of the Congressional Bike Caucus. Representative Oberstar chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.• Representative Earl Blumenauer — A Democrat representing Portland, Oregon, Representative Blumenauer—another nationally renowned Congressional Bike Caucus member and founder of the Bike Caucus—sits on the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.• Representative Peter DeFazio — Another Oregon Democrat, and yet another member of the Congressional Bike Caucus, Representative DeFazio is a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
While other short-list names were also being bandied about, the buzz around these cycling advocates was so strong that we had reason to hope for the best. Supporting that hope were candidate Obama’s own words from his record-breaking Portland rally:
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Almost a third of the House is in the Congressional Bike Caucus. When so many are in it, does its status diminish? I don't know much about it, but all I gather from the link you provided is that these are a bunch of people who get their name on a list that looks sort of good and maybe talk about bikes together every once in a while. Is there better reason I have not yet seen to convince me that the Congressional Bike Caucus is significantly more than just a political tactic (and quite a good one for Mr. LaHood, who allegedly is much more well-versed in dealing with auto and highway workers)?
# Posted By Seth Meyer
| 12/21/08 1:24 PM
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