"Julius is an outstanding choice for FCC Chairman," Gigi Sohn of Public Knowledge says. "Julius Genachowski is an excellent choice to chair the FCC," Comcast's Chairman and CEO Brian L. Roberts told us. "Julius Genachowski is an excellent choice to lead the FCC," declared Free Press's Josh Silver shortly after the announcement.

By now you can guess what the cable lobby says. "He is an excellent choice," proclaimed Kyle McSlarrow, President and CEO of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA), "and combines the policy savvy and real-world experience that will be necessary to confront both the challenges and opportunities presented at a time of incredible change sweeping the media, communications and technology marketplace."

What's one to make of this? I've been trying to figure this Genachowski guy out based on his paper trail. Here's the short bio. He went to Harvard with Obama and edited the Harvard Law Review's Notes pages; then he clerked for a couple of Supreme Court justices in the early 1990s (Brennan; Souter); then he served as senior counsel to one of Bill Clinton's FCC Chairs, Reed Hundt; then he lawyered for a bunch of dot.coms, founded several, and worked as an aide to media mover/shaker Barry Diller.