Jobs Still Elude Some Bush Ex-Officials: Text Analysis
Original article appeared in the Feb 21, 2008 WSJText Analysis by Erasmus Binkster Rfp, SoQ, AMf, and Bucky Kibble III, Esq
The jobless rate is hanging high -- for many of the roughly 3,000 political appointees who served President George W. Bush. Finding work has proved a far tougher task than those appointees expected.
No shit. You got appointed, and didn't have to apply online with Monster.com
"This is not a great time for anyone to be job hunting, including numerous former political appointees," said Carlos M. Gutierrez, Mr. Bush's commerce secretary. Previously chief executive of cereal maker Kellogg Co., he hopes to run a company again because "I have a lot of energy."
read: "home life sucks, my kids hate me, and my girlfriend wants money"
Only 25% to 30% of ex-Bush officials seeking full-time jobs have succeeded, estimated Eric Vautour, a Washington recruiter at Russell Reynolds Associates Inc. That "is much, much worse" than when Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton left the White House, he said. At least half those presidents' senior staffers landed employment within a month after the administration ended, Mr. Vautour recalled.
Q: Have you ever been convicted of a felony? If so, please state below:
A handful of Bush cabinet officers have accepted academic appointments. Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson joined Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies as a fellow. Condoleezza Rice, previously secretary of state, resumed her Stanford University roles as a political-science professor and senior fellow at its Hoover Institution think tank.
Given the GOP's deep love for higher education, I'm surprised that Liberty University and Patrick Henry College didn't step up to the plate. Would've made those grad-level symposiums mo' bettah.
J. Michael McConnell, the ex-director of national intelligence, also rejoined a prior employer. He resumed work this week as a senior vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton, the title he held when he left the management consultancy to become U.S. spy chief. Last week, Fidelity Investments named Anthony Ryan, a former acting Treasury undersecretary, to head its asset-management strategy.
Now that Fido's pie has shrunk to manageable proportions, he'll be at work by 10, done by 3.
Some high-level Bush appointees say they are in no rush to be re-employed. Michael Leavitt, previously secretary of Health and Human Services, said he will spend a few months trying to align his interests with opportunities. Meanwhile, the former Utah governor continued, "I'm writing some about the past [and] I'm giving speeches about the future."
Econ 101: A speech pay's 50gs a pop. You do the math, Nimrod.
Mr. Gutierrez is keeping equally busy during his job hunt. He said he recently signed up for a speakers' bureau and collects $25,000 to $50,000 per lecture about issues such as global business. Last week, United Technologies Corp. named him a director.
Mad money, mothafuckah!
Mr. Gutierrez would like to stay in Washington, which he acknowledges could impede his search for a corporate CEO role. "I don't want to go anywhere" because "public policy makes a difference," Mr. Gutierrez explained. He said he may ultimately consider businesses based elsewhere.
"public policy makes a difference" especially if it serves a select public, not the public stuck on a bus.
Senior Bush aides keen to work again "have to look broader than Washington," said Nels B. Olson, a recruiter for Korn/Ferry International. Mr. Vautour agrees. A number of former officials are now saying, " 'I'll look anywhere' " because they realize the Washington job market "is very tough," he said.
Oh yeah. Unemployed, 50+ white men. Feel the love, ass-hat.
Washington think tanks, charities and trade associations long provided fertile ground for ex-political appointees. But many lack interest in hiring high-profile Republicans when Democrats control the White House and Congress. Mr. Bush's low approval ratings at the end of his term don't help, said Leonard Pfeiffer IV, a Washington recruiter for nonprofits.
Especially when non-profits took it in the shorts these last 8 yrs.
Former Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has told acquaintances he would like to run an industry trade group but hasn't landed a position. Mr. Kempthorne, a former Idaho mayor, governor and U.S. senator, said he is discussing employment "with two major and well-respected organizations."
Hmm. Oh yes, the Cyanide Leaching Trade Association and the Mountain States Clear-cut League.
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Erasmus Binkster Rfp, SoQ, AMf, is Chancellor Emeritii of Hellmouth Amalgamated PolySci, Hellmouth CA
Mr Bucky Kibble III, Esq, is senior partner at Pogey Baitte & Marroone: Admiralty Law in Extremis, and Chief Counsel for the Christian Topless Bar Trade Association (CTBTA)
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