Personal Dilemma

[Matt Flynn]

my wife was asked to interview for the position of director of child health for North Carolina. i was adamantly opposed to it as her working 40+ hours a week while our children were small did not make sense for a prize that size unless it was her life's work, and bureaucracy is not her life's work. there was some heat in the discussion.

it sounds like a crappy proposal.

[Mano]

I am assuming the job would only last as long as the campaign if not elected. Since it is very unlikely that Paul would actually get elected, this would probably only be like a 1 year gig - don't most universities have a sabbatical program for professor's? Might be a good option if you could take a 1 year sabbatical.

[Howard Treesong]

I think it depends on the future possibilities for Mrs. Borodog coming out of the position, which is in and of itself is not a permanent job that any sane person could stand, as others have said. But I can easily see it as a launching pad for much much better jobs down the road: Paul is a well-known guy and one of the few politicians out there with more than an ounce of principle.

I can't offer any specific advice other than to think about this in the long term from both your perspective and hers.

Seriously, career conflicts are very very difficult and need to be handled with great care. This is a very obvious point but one that any alpha-male is wont to lose sight of in the circumstances. Has she sacrificed opportunities for your career? If so, turnabout seems fair play.

[Borodog]

There's like 5 prople who keep talking about the job going nowhere if Paul isn't elected. Ron Paul is already elected; he is a ten term congressman from Texas. The job is to be his congressional press secretary; it has nothing to do with the campaign. In fact, she would apparently not be allowed to do any campaigning at all, since she would be a federal employee. The working environment in Paul's congressional office is apparently relaxed, enjoyable, and friendly, with a very low turnover rate. In short, the job could easily be long term, regardless of how Paul does in the presidential campaign.

[Howard Treesong]

[ QUOTE ]
There's like 5 prople who keep talking about the job going nowhere if Paul isn't elected. Ron Paul is already elected; he is a ten term congressman from Texas. The job is to be his congressional press secretary; it has nothing to do with the campaign. In fact, she would apparently not be allowed to do any campaigning at all, since she would be a federal employee. The working environment in Paul's congressional office is apparently relaxed, enjoyable, and friendly, with a very low turnover rate. In short, the job could easily be long term, regardless of how Paul does in the presidential campaign.

[/ QUOTE ]

I did not mean to suggest that it would be a limited-term job because Rep. Paul won't win the Republican nomination, but rather as a matter of preference: I can't imagine Mrs. Borodog wanting that job as a permanent gig; but rather as a stepping-stone to bigger and better things.

If she wants it as a permajob, then the calculus is different as the long-term is now.

[Borodog]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
There's like 5 prople who keep talking about the job going nowhere if Paul isn't elected. Ron Paul is already elected; he is a ten term congressman from Texas. The job is to be his congressional press secretary; it has nothing to do with the campaign. In fact, she would apparently not be allowed to do any campaigning at all, since she would be a federal employee. The working environment in Paul's congressional office is apparently relaxed, enjoyable, and friendly, with a very low turnover rate. In short, the job could easily be long term, regardless of how Paul does in the presidential campaign.

[/ QUOTE ]

I did not mean to suggest that it would be a limited-term job because Rep. Paul won't win the Republican nomination, but rather as a matter of preference: I can't imagine Mrs. Borodog wanting that job as a permanent gig; but rather as a stepping-stone to bigger and better things.

[/ QUOTE ]

She may very well; but who knows what constitutes "long term" and "short term" in such a thing?

In the long term, she may want to be a pundit/syndicated columnest/etc.

[MrMon]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
There's like 5 prople who keep talking about the job going nowhere if Paul isn't elected. Ron Paul is already elected; he is a ten term congressman from Texas. The job is to be his congressional press secretary; it has nothing to do with the campaign. In fact, she would apparently not be allowed to do any campaigning at all, since she would be a federal employee. The working environment in Paul's congressional office is apparently relaxed, enjoyable, and friendly, with a very low turnover rate. In short, the job could easily be long term, regardless of how Paul does in the presidential campaign.

[/ QUOTE ]

I did not mean to suggest that it would be a limited-term job because Rep. Paul won't win the Republican nomination, but rather as a matter of preference: I can't imagine Mrs. Borodog wanting that job as a permanent gig; but rather as a stepping-stone to bigger and better things.

[/ QUOTE ]

She may very well; but who knows what constitutes "long term" and "short term" in such a thing?

In the long term, she may want to be a pundit/syndicated columnest/etc.

[/ QUOTE ]

Bingo!

Perhaps you could research how long other press secretaries have been on the job by just asking a few of them. If they're not busy, like Congress is on a recess, they'll probably be happy to answer questions about themselves and their job, people probably rarely ask about themselves. Just e-mail a few, I'm sure you'll get some responses.

FWIW, federal employment does have it's perks, which will be strange to a libertarian, but that's the way the system works.

BTW, wasn't Tim Russert Tip O'Neill's press secretary? Sure, Ron Paul isn't Tip O'Neill, but if your wife has the personality to move on to the pundit type jobs, she'll surely get noticed and approached. It's going to be hard to pass up, if offered, even if for just a short term.

[DVaut1]

[ QUOTE ]
There's like 5 prople who keep talking about the job going nowhere if Paul isn't elected. Ron Paul is already elected; he is a ten term congressman from Texas. The job is to be his congressional press secretary; it has nothing to do with the campaign. In fact, she would apparently not be allowed to do any campaigning at all, since she would be a federal employee. The working environment in Paul's congressional office is apparently relaxed, enjoyable, and friendly, with a very low turnover rate. In short, the job could easily be long term, regardless of how Paul does in the presidential campaign.

[/ QUOTE ]

One thing to consider is that Paul is 72; he may very well have another decade in Congress left in him, but it's a common occurrence for politicians to use a Presidential campaign as a career swan-song: see Bob Graham and Dick Gephardt in 2004.

I've read in various places that this is a possibility for Paul -- which is to say, when his Presidential campaign is over, he may retire.

Given your wife's history with Paul and his team, it sounds like she would certainly be in a better position than I or various inside-the-Beltway/Capitol Hill insiderish type publications to know if Paul plans on retiring soon; but you should consider that this may not be a long-term position even if Paul's seat is safe.

You should have your wife ask around members of his staff; they may not know what Paul has planned after his campaign is over, but I have to think retirement is potential option -- and his current staffers may have an inkling as to what his post-campaign plans are.

[laurentia]

Since you don't want to stop your wife from going I don't think you are at a point yet where you are forced to make a decision. It will be easier after you get more info like how much she likes her job and whether you can get one there.

You seem to be happy now but there is some chance that it even gets better. You might like DC, or your wife could decide that you are more important for her than RP.

[Howard Treesong]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
There's like 5 prople who keep talking about the job going nowhere if Paul isn't elected. Ron Paul is already elected; he is a ten term congressman from Texas. The job is to be his congressional press secretary; it has nothing to do with the campaign. In fact, she would apparently not be allowed to do any campaigning at all, since she would be a federal employee. The working environment in Paul's congressional office is apparently relaxed, enjoyable, and friendly, with a very low turnover rate. In short, the job could easily be long term, regardless of how Paul does in the presidential campaign.

[/ QUOTE ]

I did not mean to suggest that it would be a limited-term job because Rep. Paul won't win the Republican nomination, but rather as a matter of preference: I can't imagine Mrs. Borodog wanting that job as a permanent gig; but rather as a stepping-stone to bigger and better things.

[/ QUOTE ]

She may very well; but who knows what constitutes "long term" and "short term" in such a thing?

In the long term, she may want to be a pundit/syndicated columnest/etc.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, I guess I'd answer that rhetorical point with another. I'd define "long term" as "that period of time which would clearly prevent Borodog from returning to his dream job" or "that period of time at which Clan Borodog becomes irretrievably unsatisfied with a NC/DC long-distance relationship."

In the perfect world, you'd take a leave from your dream job (with prospects of returning) long enough for Mrs. Borodog to test the Paul waters and determine prospects for a move upward. I would guess that a syndicated columnist type of job is geographically unrestrained, which would then permit you to work in whatever location suits your career.

Does Mrs. Borodog read 2p2?