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Jill Biden Goes Her Own Way

VP-Elect's wife won't be sticking to Naval Conservatory

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 28, 2008 1:34 PM CST

(Newser) – Jill Biden is not your typical vice presidential spouse. She has four degrees, three kids, and a teaching career that’s unlikely to take a back seat to her Washington duties, Politico reports. “She’ll still teach in the spring, but hopefully near Washington,” said a colleague at the Delaware community college where she works now. "She’s had some offers I think from four-year schools, but she said, ‘That’s not me.'"

Also not her: trading on her husband's status. She didn't post any pictures of him in her office, and some of her students didn't know of the association even as she hit the campaign trail. "She knows what matters," her sister-in-law recently told Vogue. “Every time she has needed to step up to the plate, she's done it, but with grace."

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

Vice President Dick Cheney and wife Lynne welcome Vice President-elect Joe Biden, right, and his wife Jill Biden in the Vice President's official residence at the Naval Observatory Nov. 13. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Jill and Joe greet the crowd before a rally at Putnam Hill Park in Zanesville, Ohio, Monday, Nov. 3, 2008. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

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She knows what matters. Every time she has needed to step up to the plate, she's done it, but with grace. There's nothing edgy or unpleasant about Jill—but she's not a pious little milquetoast. - Valerie Biden Owens, Jill's sister-in-law

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Jill Biden Goes Her Own Way