When someone in public life says they’re leaving their job “for personal reasons” it usually means they are about to get indicted, their paramour is going to write a tell-all book (they had an affair with the pool boy), or they got a big- bucks offer to work for the opposition to their current gig.

But in the case of presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway, given her sadly public family issues, the personal reason looks legit.

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Her husband will also be stepping down from an active role in the RINO anti-Trump Lincoln Project. Comments Kellyanne Conway, “We disagree about plenty but we are united on what matters most: the kids. Our four children are teens and ‘tweens starting a new academic year, in middle school and high school, remotely from home for at least a few months… For all of its political differences and cultural cleavages, this is a beautiful country filled with amazing people. The promise of America belongs to us all.”

This is not a good development for the Trump administration or campaign. Conway guided the 2016 campaign through it’s last successful months and has been an extremely successful presidential counselor and advocate. Her political savvy combined with a telegenic presentation and articulate combativeness made her a formidable foe against the president’s detractors.

But her family situation overshadowed much of her success. Her husband George has been a petty and petulant critic of the president and recently her 15-year-old daughter has threatened to file for legal emancipation.

There are those in D.C. who think the couple has been playing a double game all along, keeping a foot in both the Trump and anti-Trump camps. Now, the theory goes, they think Trump is going to lose and she does not want to go down with the ship.

But, before she was a White House counselor Conway was a sharp pollster and GOP operative. The political professional D.C. community —on both sides of the operational aisle— who have tremendous respect for her personally and for her expertise, do not share that view.

Said one high-level GOP media consultant to LifeZette, “She’s fiercely loyal and good at her job. But family comes first and she’s smart enough to get that. Too many of us have divorces because of our jobs.”

This person speaks wisdom. As a former member of the operational political community I can attest to the toll it takes on families. An old joke used to run, “What are three things you will be sure to have as a successful political consultant? A Rolex, a foreign car, and child support payments.”

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The Trump campaign is in good hands with Bill Stepien. He’s a pro’s pro and will take the battle to the opposition. And on election night, unless she takes a campaign role, Kellyanne Conway will watch the results like a sidelined quarterback watching her team play the Super Bowl. It’s not a pleasant feeling.