Politicians Claiming to Be Resigning to Spend More Time With the Family
"Expert. Because a man who doesn't spend fourth dimension with his family can never exist a real man."
– Vito Corleone
White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley (Charles Dharapak/AP)
Later Barack Obama appear that Beak Daley was leaving his task every bit White Business firm chief of staff to spend more time with his family, my colleague Karen Tumulty wrote that in all her years in Washington, she could think of only one person, George Due west. Bush adviser Karen Hughes, who'd said that and been believed.
Simply there have to take been others who forfeited position and power to spend more than time playing "Ants in the Pants," right? Here are a few who said they did:
1) Sen. Ben Nelson, the moderate Nebraskan who so oftentimes maddened his boyfriend Democrats, recently announced he won't seek reelection for family reasons. But Nelson, who'south 70, was considered one of the most endangered members of the Senate — and besides said just recently, "I have no plans to retire. No plans to retire. Zero."
2) Michele Flournoy, 50, who'southward soon leaving her chore every bit the under secretary of defense for policy, is one of the most senior women civilians ever to serve at the Pentagon, with a portfolio that includes shaping our counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan and assembling the team that's planning our role in that location later combat troops leave at the end of 2014. She'southward said she's leaving in February to "rebalance" her life and spend more time with her three children: "Right now I need to recalibrate a piddling bit and invest a fiddling bit more in the family business relationship for a while. We've been going flat out for more than than three years." (Karen Hughes, you are no longer alone.)
3) Rep. Elton Gallegly, (R-CA) a big proponent of legislation that would allow states to pass up to educate undocumented immigrant children, appear before this month that he won't be seeking a 14th term so that he and his wife Janice can spend more fourth dimension with their four children, and with friends. Just after redistricting, he would have had to run against a fellow Republican congressman and at to the lowest degree one strong Democratic challenger.
4) Rep. Bart Stupak, the Michigan Democrat and abortion-rights opponent who saved the health-intendance reform police past getting agreeing members to support information technology at the final possible minute, was rewarded with the outrage of both conservatives, who thought he'd caved, and liberals, who hated the executive social club he got the president to sign, explicitly stating in that location was no ballgame funding in the law. He didn't run again in 2010, merely told The Atlantic that relaxation around the home fires did not immediately follow, what with at least one death threat and being "bitch[ed] out" by angry people in airports.
five) Ron Bloom, Obama's "car czar," was similarly acclaimed afterwards helping to save the auto industry.
vi) After Cynthia Stroum, Obama's ambassador to Grand duchy of luxembourg, stepped downward for family reasons, a State Department report fully detailed the disaster of her yr-long tenure; information technology not only said she'd accomplished nil, but noted that she'd been seen by employees every bit "aggressive, bullying, hostile and intimidating."
7) Obama economic adviser Christina Romer, who hightailed it back to UC-Berkeley in August of 2010, was besides said to be leaving to honor family commitments. Her husband, economist David Romer, had been on leave from his task Berkeley and their son started high school that fall.
8) Obama'southward chief domestic policy adviser Melody Barnes cited family when she recently left her task, as the Chicago Dominicus-Times put information technology, "at a time when President Barack Obama'south administration is getting little notice for its work on the domicile front to prepare the struggling economy."
9) Then there was Claude Allen, the George West. Bush White House staffer who was arrested for felony theft soon subsequently announcing he was leaving to spend more time with his nearest and dear.
Of course, there are men and women in all fields who do really walk abroad from coveted jobs for family reasons: all the world knows astronaut Mark Kelly is spending fourth dimension with his wife, Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who was shot in Tucson a yr ago. Sandra Mean solar day O'Connor stepped down from the Supreme Courtroom early on to take intendance of her ill husband. And years ago, Anna Quindlen shocked New York Times readers when she walked abroad from her cavalcade for the newspaper.
Just people who really practice determine, equally Quindlen put it, that you lot might be able to have it all, just not all at the same time, are undermined by the fibbers. When someone like Urban Meyer claims he'southward leaving his coaching job at the University of Florida to clear the sched for more family time, then takes a $iv million-a-yr coaching job with Ohio State, we naturally suspect maybe he'southward not like that guy in "Cheaper past the Dozen," who gave up his dream coaching task to spend more than time with the home team.
I tin't say I sympathise why people trot out the family unit excuse when that'due south not the real reason: offset, it'south such a cliche it seems fishy fifty-fifty when it's for real. And if you then take another big assignment, it'south such an insult to your family: Thank God, something amend than spending more time with them came forth!
Remember what happened when Campbell Brownish broke with convention and spit out the truth? The announcment that she was stepping down as anchor of her CNN show in 2010 said, "I could accept said I am stepping downward to spend more time with my children (which I truly want to practice). Or that I am leaving to pursue other opportunities (which I likewise truly want to do). But...the uncomplicated fact is that not enough people desire to watch my program." Not only did no one scroll their eyes, merely she rightly got a lot of credit for stating the obvious. Especially in a town and an economic system in which people are up and and then downward all the time, more departing big dogs should follow her example; information technology might even assist them observe piece of work
Melinda Henneberger is a political writer for the Washington Postal service and anchor of 'She the People.' Follow her on Twitter at @MelindaDC.
View Photo Gallery: White Firm Chief of Staff Bill Daley said he's leaving his job to spend more time with his family. Hither are some other power players who made similar moves — whether their reasons were believed or not.
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/post/nine-who-said-they-resigned-to-spend-more-time-at-home--and-one-who-was-even-believed/2012/01/10/gIQA7LiWpP_blog.html
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