ARTICULATED

Last night I had dinner with a close friend who is a very high-level congressional staffer. We’ve been friends since our mid-20s, so I confess to be partial to him. Yet I never cease to be amazed at his capacity to single-handedly, inadvertently challenge some of my most closely held ideas.

To my mind, this guy is a genuine public servant. Over the years, I’ve never been able to detect anything that’s “in it” for him. Who could guess how many lobbying jobs he’s turned down, ones that would probably double or triple his salary. He never seems drunk by the political game, instead viewing it only as the means to an end. He suffers no egomania. He has no discernible private agenda.

From my view, he’s made it to a position of considerable influence by being a good public servant through being a measured, pragmatic voice for what he believes is right. More and more, watching him operate flies in the face of my perception of the vast majority of politicians -– motivated by what is best for their careers almost entirely at the expense of what is best for their country.

Of course, he’s not the only person who serves on Capitol Hill for the right reasons. He’s just the only one in a position to challenge my notions. And he does so without even trying.