In fact, even ardent Google fans and MSFT critics agree that we need a strong #2 to counter Google’s dominance online.  We all respect and admire Google but let’s face it, to quote Cooper Anderson, we need to keep Google honest.

Anyway, this morning I wake up and see that having lead counsel David Drummond voice his concerns was step 1.  Apparently, Eric Schmidt is going to go all out to try to wrest Yahoo! away from Redmond, or at the very least, help them remain independent.

As a Yahoo! shareholder, I am not sure if I care about Yahoo! shifting its search to Google anymore, that seems like way too little, way too late.  I think YHOO + MSFT is a better answer for shareholders’ needs.  But regardless of all that, I have some word of advice for Eric and Google:

It is specifically this that MSFT will play off to get approval.  The fact that Google can show up, sign a blank check for $2, 3… who knows $5B in guaranteed revenues to boost to its market share is a cause for concern.

Google is a ferocious operational contestant in this battle, but Microsoft has proven adept at deal-making prowess.  By opening the bid at $31 / $44.6B in market cap, MSFT is leaving more than enough room to up the bid, as we suggested might happen earlier.

Note: Long YHOO