RFK Jr.’s qualifications are suspect
There is not any easy answer for deciding if Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is qualified to be secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. However, I think if we use typical ways of hiring managers that most of used when we were employed might work.
One of the things I considered in hiring managers was salary requirements. That would be no problem for RFK Jr. since with his family’s wealth he would never need a salary. Especially important considerations were these: education, work experience and stable personal and family life.
He graduated from Harvard with a degree in American History and graduated from Law School from the University of Virginia. No problem there. However, in 1982 he failed admission to the New York Bar because of pending drug charges. He pled guilty to using heroin and received probation and community service.
On Feb. 16, 1983, he was sentenced to community service which involved service to the National Resource Defense Council. He became interested in the protection of natural resources and continued with that experience for several years. He was admitted to the New York Bar, but apparently never practiced law in New York. He has a lengthy history of success in protecting consumer rights, especially those involving corporate abuse.
Stability in both his personal and family life is suspect. Several years ago, he was involved in removing the head of a dead beached whale, and Kennedy indicated he retrieved a bear that was accidentally killed by a motorist, leaving it in Central Park with a bicycle on top of the carcass. He has been married three times, and it has been reported that his current marriage is in difficulty. It has been alleged that he was not faithful in his marriages.
The conclusion would likely be that he would not be qualified, since has inadequate education and experience that would provide even limited ability to understand the workings of HHS, and he has potential personal and family problems that may interfere with his responsibilities as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Michael Dressendorfer
Antioch