As the tech community eagerly awaits more details on President-elect Barack Obama's proposed chief technology officer post, many have made wish lists of what they would like to see come of the first-of-its-kind job. In a recent interview with NationalJournal.com's Theresa Poulson, Google's vice president and "chief Internet evangelist," Vinton Cerf, who has been rumored to be on the short list for the job, outlined what he might include on the CTO's agenda and how the position could invigorate the economy by creating jobs through investments in infrastructure.

NJ: What challenges do you see for this proposed CTO position?

Cerf: I see a lot of them. I think the ambition level is laudable. Taking President-elect Obama at his word, he's expressed a desire that the U.S. government make better use of information technology. And that message fits very well with another message I understand that he's expressed, which is to invest in American infrastructure. I think that applies equally well to the civilian and private sector -- the consumer sector -- and also to the government itself and its facilities.

Read edited excerpts (and audio clips) from the Q&A here.