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LIL’ BUDDY’S BLOG – Getting a Job Within the Obama Administration Will Be Tough – Even for a Little Dog!

THE CHICAGO IL REAL ESTATE MARKET, AND OTHER THINGS CHICAGO, FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF A LITTLE WHITE DOG!

Hey, you dogs!  I'm writing from the road today.  Hope all is well for you, and you are having no trouble finding new trees to mark.

But for many of us here in Chicago, where the Fall, 2008 Real Estate Market is currently going through another one of its slow times, very common this year, my Pup Reporter Gracie and me have sometimes glanced at the local want-ads, as well as job postings on Craigslist, and CareerBuilder.com.

To our dismay, there are few openings for those of our size and stature - around ten pounds each, and roughly 20 inches long.  Driving a delivery truck would prove challenging for either of us.  Operating heavy industrial machinery - no matter how hard we would try, our paws won't reach between the operating switch and the safety button.

Even Wal-Mart is afraid to hire us as greeters!   The local Skokie IL Wal-Mart seems afraid that larger, less sure footed humans may actually step on us, or that our somewhat-raspy "Welcome to Wal-Mart" barks might somehow be misunderstood!

So Gracie and I got to thinking - perhaps we can pull down jobs in the administration of President Elect Barack Obama.  He is from CHICAGO, after all, and I'm sure his lil' daughters would just love us to pieces.  We're hypo-allergenic, or at least we try to be - most of the time.

We're even careful on nice rugs and carpets, if you know what I mean - although Gracie needs to get a wee bit better in this regard, being only 5 months old!

But landing a job in the new administration will be tough!

Hoping to avoid even the slightest hint of scandal or favoritism, or potential embarrassment to this new, historic administration, their Application for Employment seems rather exhaustive.

Applicants are asked whether anyone in their family owns a gun, for example.  Whether they have ever broken the law - even traffic tickets with fines greater than $50 must be explained.

Any sent emails or blog posts that might be considered potentially controversial must be disclosed.  Facebook links must be provided, as do any aliases, user names, or handles used to communicate via the Internet.

Every new U.S. President has imposed extensive screening procedures for new staffers.  President Elect Obama, however, in line with his pledge to bring "Change" to Washington, wants to make sure he avoids potential back-biting or lobbying within the staff he selects to assist him.

"The President Elect made a commitment to change the way Washington does business, and the vetting process exemplifies that," says Obama Transition Office Chief Spokesperson Stephanie Cutter.

During past administrations, experience with U.S. Mortgage Investors and Guarantors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may have enhanced the resume of a potential staff applicant.  However, since financial irregularities by these organizations, and their recent seizure by the Fed, have pointed up their apparent key role in today's credit market crisis, a job history with these agencies might now be considered a potential negative.

Accordingly, Question 18 of the Obama Staff Application asks whether "you, your spouse, or any member of your immediate family " have ever been associated with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mack, American International Group (AIG), Washington Mutual, or any other firm or institution receiving money from the government bailout.

Whew, you dogs - this a pretty thorough qualification process!  Luckily, neither Gracie nor I have never worked for any of these big corporations, and our email aliases are fairly benign (I'm "Lil' White Dog," while Gracie goes by "Queen of the Ewoks" when she posts on her My Space page.

In any event, all we'd want to give for our country is love, and all we ask for is enough Iams Small Breed Mix - and, of course, an occasional belly rub, in return.

See today's post by Frank James in "The Swamp" blog in today's Chicago Tribune for more.

YOUR ACE REPORTER ON FOUR PAWS,