Keep in mind that many people come up in "the system" and work within it because that is all that is available to them. If/when presented with a real opportunity to alter that system (if they are so inclined) many will do so and be uniquely qualified to succeed in that task due to their intimate knowledge of what they are trying to change.
At the very least we should appreciate that he appears qualified, on technical terms, for a position such as this. This is already a vast improvement upon the Bush Administration, which would have appointed some religious nut who ran a food kitchen once to this job.
I advise withholding of alarm on all such appointments until the time comes that they are making new decisions, crafted out of their own policy, which violate the public trust.
Sometimes the best guy to regulate a bad guy like Monsanto is someone they know and trust. We will have to see how it turns out.
