The Washington Post’s Al Kamen is hosting a little “Brownie’s New Gig” contest in which participants to can offer suggestions for a “suitable new job” for former FEMA director Mike Brown. At this rate, Brown may want to take a close look at the results — because getting a new job in the politico-governmental field is proving to be a challenge.
Ex-FEMA Administrator Michael Brown seems to be doing for his career what he did for the beleaguered agency. Less than a week after FEMA’s dismal Hurricane Katrina response forced Brown out of the agency, he has been shopping his resume to headhunters and Washington PR firms. And it’s not working.
“He’s radioactive,” said one exec. An ally of Brownie in the PR world said he should have waited a month before starting his job hunt. “It’s just a bad play.”
That point about timing seems particularly true. Brown resigned in disgrace seven days ago. This item, from U.S. News & World Report, was published over the weekend, which means Brown was peddling his resume literally within a few days of his painful exit from FEMA. I’m no expert in head-hunting, but generally speaking, job seekers whose names have become a punch line to a national joke might want to take a little time off.
Having said that, I wouldn’t be terribly surprised to see Brown land on his feet. There are any number of lobbying firms and trade associations who need access to top officials in the Bush administration. Brown may be “radioactive” now, but it’s only a matter of time before someone wants to utilize Brown’s rolodex. The tolerance for incompetence in DC is surprisingly high.