Working in the White House is really hard, you guys!
Linda Douglass slept nearly 12 hours the day after she left her job as a communications aide at the White House. And the day after that and the day after that. It took two weeks until she finally felt rested.
“I got to the point where I was almost traumatized by how hard I was working and how much stress I was feeling all the time,” Ms. Douglass recalled.
When she resigned, she said: “I felt like a real burden was lifted from my shoulders. I was really surprised how exhausted I was when I left…
“I was never off my BlackBerry — ever,” said Ms. Douglass, who was spokeswoman for the health care drive. At dinner, even with her husband, she would sneak to the bathroom or keep it in her lap. “It was just the three of us — him, me and my BlackBerry. I felt like I was losing friendships.”
Oh no! Hey, remember all those sympathetic NYT stories about ex-Bush administration employees? Ha ha, just kidding.
It must be exhausting, encouraging Americans to snitch on each other to the government:
There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.
You’ll be glad to know that Linda isn’t letting this traumatic experience get to her, and has landed on her feet with a new job at The Atlantic. Howard Kurtz:
While her political tenure “troubles me not at all” for the corporate part of the job, [Atlantic Media Company owner David] Bradley says, he sees a “blinking red light” when she gets involved with the journalistic side, especially as it involves the president or health care. But, adds Bradley, “she’s too big an editorial talent for us to keep her out of the editorial product.”
Anybody else smell… fish?