The Doctor is in

There is nothing about this article in the LA Times today that I don't love -

Jill Biden is going back to work as a community college professor, now at Northern Virginia Community College, making her the first "Second Lady" to hold a paying job while her husband holds the office of the Vice Presidency. I really enjoyed a Washington Post feature shortly after the election that talked about Jill Biden's pursuit of her doctorate, and her use of her maiden name to avoid bias among the review committee. Apparently she's still using the "he's a relative" line to deflect questions from her students about her famous husband, but after recent moments in the spotlight, it might be a little harder to avoid the attention.

The article also delves into the issue of the doctor honorific for non-medical academics. I have to say, I'm entirely in agreement with the Time writer Amy Sullivan quoted in the story - while I generally find it grating to hear PhDs insist on a title reserved for physicians, hearing "Senator Joe Biden and Doctor Jill Biden" announced at the Inauguration was certainly among the most cheer-inspiring moments of the ceremonies.

Also, Lynne Cheney "earned a doctorate in English with a dissertation titled "Matthew Arnold's Possible Perfection: A Study of the Kantian Strain in Arnold's Poetry" ?! No kidding. That must have made it a little difficult to bear all the Rovian contempt for fancy-pants intellectuals.