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by Tom LaskawyTime for a pop quiz. Who would you rather have in charge of food safety in this country as head of the USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service? Choices provided by WaPo:
1. Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest or 2. former Bush administration FSIS administrator and current Big Ag lobbyist Barbara J. MastersCareful now, it's a trick question. Take as much time as you want. Frankly, I'm not worried about this one. The Bushies did such a great job with food safety, didn't they? If Masters gets the nod in the middle of this food safety mess, then Ezra will eat his hat (sorry, Ezra. I'd love to follow up but I'll be long gone by the time the decision comes down). If this report is indeed accurate, it strikes me as a shortlist constructed to allow for the appearance of a "diversity" of candidates - you know, good ones and industry flacks. Just because there are only two people on it, it doesn't follow that each one has an equal chance of getting the gig. You can see DeWaal in action here. And if she really is the leading candidate? Like, wow.
