Capitol Hill : Where Neither Bright nor Brawny Reside

The greatest men in political history were neither the smartest, nor the strongest men this world has ever seen. These men were some of the most clever, and the most cunning though. Those who play hardball in the political world, are the men we saw playing by themselves as children. They were the ones who watched, listened, and learned. They were men who above all things, understood how people work.

Jimmy Carter was a man who watched and understood. He saw that when a man has been knocked off of a high horse, all that is needed to pick him back up is a little bit of encouraging. Carter was also a man clever enough to see that if you help a man back up, he is certain to follow you. Carter utilized the charm of the political world, to convince men to delve even deeper into that world, and most importantly, follow him into it during the 1976 elections. The glamour of the political world, a world where everyone in the nation could possibly love you, and the opportunity to help others into it in the hopes of riding on their coattails.

Whoever works the small jobs behind the scenes on Capitol Hill, has the most power. It is those workers, that men such as Jimmy Carter have laid their foundations on. On Capitol Hill, in the Hardball world of politics that so many are attracted to, the one skill one has to hone and master is people. One must convince others to join their cause, and ensure that they support them; more importantly, continue to support them. It is men such as the manager of phones who anyone playing hardball wishes to have on their side. Everyone on Capitol Hill is a pawn, including the men who might seem like kings. Those who succeed on the Hill are those who learn to use all the other pawns to their advantage, thus becoming a player.

A clever player of any game will always use is weaknesses to the best of his ability. Such a clever player turns his flaws into the weapons he uses. A player on Capitol Hill must ensure that his pawns never discover that in truth they are just that, pawns. A tool to ensure that pawns stay pawns, is to never show that the player is weak. Barbara A. Mikulski fought her way to the senate with her clever wit. She used her wit to arm herself with what has held so many others back, her height. Rather then hiding her weakness, she exposed herself to the world, and they accepted her exactly as she was, all four feet and eleven inches. She controlled what her audience saw and interpreted, never showing that she could be taken down.

To listen, learn, and understand is what it takes to play hardball. To make it in such a charmed world, one cannot let themselves be drawn in. They must play the game but not be in the game. The smartest, and strongest men don’t reside on capitol hill, these men avoid it if anything. It is those who are witty, and cunning, who truly thrive.