• Politico , Wednesday, November 12, 2008 11:16 AM

During Barack Obama's first post-election press conference, Google CEO Eric Schmidt stood alongside the President-elect and didn't say anything. Nor did he have to, says Politico's Eamon Javers, as the mere sight of him alongside the President-to-be should be "enough to send shivers up the spine of Google's competitors."

As one Democratic lobbyist said, "This terrifies Microsoft. There's a reason why people are scared to death of Google." The search giant claims that Schmidt was acting on his own, and that his politics don't reflect those of the company. Even so, Schmidt isn't the only Googler close to Obama. The President-elect is said to be weighing asking either Schmidt or Google's technology evangelist Vint Cerf to become the country's first chief technology officer. Schmidt has said that he would decline the offer, but Cerf has remained quiet.

"From the staff attorney all the way up the line, everybody now knows that Google is close to Obama," the same lobbyist said, suggesting that this could "affect the policy playing field" in Google's favor. Javers points out that Google has several issues pending in Washington, from broadband access and net neutrality to privacy rights, patent reform and copyright policy. Meanwhile, the Mountain View, Calif. giant has been quietly upping its presence in Washington over the last year.

Read the whole story at Politico »