Free Republic

Apple CEO Tim Cook will sit with First Lady Michelle Obama during President Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday night. It marks the second year in a row the invitation has been extended to the Apple family. Last year, Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, joined Michelle Obama in the coveted spot. During an appearance on CNBC, White House economic advisor Gene Sperling confirmed Cook's participation. "Apple is a great American company, and it stands for our sense of innovation, invention, entrepreneurship, and risk taking and I think that's quite an appropriate person to be...

It looks increasingly like Steve Jobs' reign at Apple is over. If the CEO doesn't return from his third, indefinite medical leave, COO Tim Cook will succeed him, marking a new era not only for Apple but for gay progress. (snip) Cook, a famously quiet and collected person, will find his backstory, both personal and professional, the topic of increasing interest and discussion in the tech community. That new attention is a good thing for a man with a reputation as fearsomely good as Cook's. Cook's rise to his position—he is one of the most powerful corporate executives in the...