Letters to the President #1300: 'Changing jobs'

Reporter's Note: I have written to President Obama ever single day since he took office. I’m exhausted.

Dear Mr. President,

Did you ever consider not running for re-election? I don’t mean that as a leading or insulting question, but I’ve often wondered if Presidents at some point consider the impact of the job on their families, their healthy, their friends, and their other aspirations. Because frankly, if a president did that, it’s kind of hard to imagine that he wouldn’t at least think about quitting.

I mean, a job is a job, and a great job is a great thing, but seriously…

Sometimes I think about what I would do if I weren’t doing this for a living. (I mean, being a journalist, not just writing letters to you…because frankly, there is no money in being a presidential pen pal.) I would enjoy writing more, which is kind of weird, since I write much more than the average person anyway. Still, I’d like working on novels, and long books about history, and things like that. I would not write children’s books under any circumstances. Everyone and his brother seems to think writing a book for kids is easy and fun, but I’ve met some authors of such tomes who assure me it is hell in a handbasket; a million concerns about which words you use, how characters are portrayed, what lessons you are/are not teaching; whether any stereotypes are being pushed…yadda, yadda, yadda. That’s a headache I don’t want.

Beyond that, what else? I’d love to work in radio again, but that’s just a fantasy. The kind of radio work I enjoyed back in high school and college is long gone. Now it’s all pretty much market-research driven, pre-canned content…or its so small time that you can’t make a living at it.

I have considered getting into the management end of our business, and I think I’d be pretty good at it, but I detest meetings so that would be a problem.

I’ve thought about going into education, but heaven help any young people who listen to me.

So I guess you’ll try to hold onto your job, and I’ll do the same; which makes us like an awful lot of Americans in these tough times. Ha!

Call if you can. We’re welcoming the older daughter back from her studies in London this weekend with a big pot of steaming jambalaya, just in case you want to drop by.

Regards,
Tom