Unlike George W. Bush (and John McCain), Barack Obama understands technology. He carries a Crackberry Blackberry with him at all times, and his technologically savvy campaign was bolstered by online fundraising and social networking, two facets of the Internet that have come to prominence in recent years.

And so, in lieu of modernity and the continued evolution of technology, Obama is adding a new position to his presidential Cabinet: Chief Technology Officer, an individual who will be tasked with guiding federal technology policy and ensuring Obama’s administration stays ahead of the curve.

According to the Daily Princetonian, three Princeton alumni have landed on the short list of potential candidates for the position:

Amazon.com CEO Jeffrey Bezos ’86, Google CEO Eric Schmidt ’76 and computer science professor Ed Felten have all been floated as possible CTOs for the BlackBerry-carrying Obama, whose campaign’s success was bolstered by online fundraising and social networking and who has been lauded as the most technologically aware president ever elected.

Other candidates floated include Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Google Vice President Vint Cerf, Stanford Center for the Internet and Society founder Lawrence Lessig and Obama’s former Harvard Law School classmate and campaign adviser Julius Genachowski.

Wait – Steve Ballmer, but no Steve Jobs? The last thing America needs is Windows-based software serving as the interface for launching nuclear missiles – or, well, anything really.

In any case, if a Tiger clinches the position, this would land Princeton in the history books.

Failure is not an option.