And Rep. Henry Waxman will be heading up the House Energy and Commerce Committee. This is encouraging in a number of ways. First, we’ll have a person shaping the energy policy debate that isn’t wedded to Detroit. Second, Waxman is not afraid of looking – and moving – into the future. Finally, that Dingell – a longstanding House power – could be displaced bodes well for those of us who think that more than seniority should determine power structure.
(None of this should be taken to say that I don’t think highly of Dingell. Waxman is simply more of what we need in that position, right now.)