Hi jjason,
You quoted and reply to my post, however I am unable to see it now.
Since you are confident that you are able to achieve a Phd in PP among the small pool, then by all mean, I recommend you and support you.
If you think that top positions in civil sector are not reserved for scholars, by all means, be the one to break the duck!
Lastly, you also mentioned you can go into consulting and have been approached to do consulting. In this case, you do not really need a PhD in PP to do it, isn't it?
Good luck to your endeavour.