Why is this woman smiling?

Because she’s Lisa Jackson, the former commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, who:

1. Just left her thankless job presiding over a troubled and shrinking state agency that’s been blamed for everything in New Jersey short of the Rutgers football team’s 2008 record;

2. Appeared to be headed for an even less desirable post as chief of staff to Governor Jon Corzine who wants to be re-elected next year but runs a government that was hopelessly broke a year before the national economy tanked, and

3. May be rescued from it all by President-elect Barack Obama who (bless his soul) is reported to be about to appoint her to run the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Jackson, 46, who worked at the EPA from 1987 to 2002 before joining the NJDEP as an assistant commissioner, has played a key role on the Obama transition team on energy and natural resources. No sooner was she appointed than the rumors started flying about her chances to win the top EPA job.

See, for instance, our report: NJ or PA woman to lead Obama’s EPA ?

Apparently, Mrs. Jackson’s on-the-job performance in D.C. has impressed those whose opinions count the most and she’s now the leading candidate for the job.

How do we know this? From an unimpeachable source–another blogger, of course.

Emily Gertz reports this today in her blog, Stop Global Warming. She made the call based on ruminations in Plenty magazine’s Political Climate blog which, in turn, was adding its licks to a report in the subscription-only E&E News/Greenwire.

But it must be true, because Plenty credits the always credible “unnamed sources” for an explanation of how Jackson began to edge out California Air Resources Board chair Mary Nichols for the top job after California Democrat Henry Waxman won the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

If that makes no sense, you need to read Plenty’s blog post which is quite interesting and maybe even true.

We hope so because we’ve had a few limited dealings with Mrs. Jackson and, like everyone we know who knows her, found her to be intelligent, honest, knowledgeable, positive, self-effacing and always professional.

What’s a woman like that doing in New Jersey anyway?

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